Evanston Public Library Executive Director Search Surveys Revealed

EVANSTON, IL — Evanston Public Library trustees released the results of surveys of staff, volunteers and community members about the search for a new executive director.

A survey distributed last fall received 306 responses, and trustees convened three listening sessions with the community and three with staff members to identify what qualities the new director should have and what they should know about Evanston, according to library officials.

"We are very fortunate to have effective leadership in place, allowing for an intentional search process," Board President Tracy Fulce said in a statement. "We are moving deliberately and thoughtfully to identify what we believe is most important for library director candidates to know about our library and our community."

After Karen Danczak Lyons retired as executive director last summer after a decade as Evanston Public Library's chief administrator, the board named Heather Norborg, the library's adult learning and literacy manager, as interim executive director.

According to library staff, the results of the surveys and listening sessions will play a crucial role informing the search process ahead of interviews, including determining what materials to provide to candidates.

Survey respondents were asked to choose the most five important out of 13 qualities.

"A relationship builder," was a top quality for more than two-thirds of respondents, followed closed by "an experienced public librarian" and "transparent communicator," the only other qualities to be selected by more than half of respondents.

According to staff, the most significant differences between the priorities reported by community members and staff who took the survey were how they valued "communication" and "budgeting."

Transparent communication had the most No. 1 rankings, while 76 percent of staff ranked it in the top 5.

But staff do not appear to care as much about the library budget as do community members — some of whom are likely local taxpayers.

Library staff ranked budget skills as the eight most important quality, while residents ranked it fourth-highest, according to survey results.

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