GOOD NEWS: Meet library director finalists at forum tonight

From left: Craig, Patterson, Tairov and Trzeciak

Staff reports  | A 6 p.m. public forum tonight (Feb. 11) will give members of the public to hear from four finalists who are candidates to be the next executive director of the Charleston County Public Library.  The meeting will be in the auditorium of the main branch, 68 Calhoun St., Charleston.

Finalists for the position, for which there has been a national search, include:

• Angela Craig, Center City Leader of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
• Jennifer Patterson, Director of Albemarle Regional Library System
• Giovanni Tairov, Director of Livingston Parish Library System
• Jeffrey Trzeciak, Director of the Newark Public Library

“These candidates are some of the best and brightest leaders in the library world and we are thrilled to have them vying for our top spot,” said CCPL Board of Trustees Chairman Andy Brack. “We are confident these finalists have the ability to continue the exciting positive trajectory of our library system in enriching the lives of our community.”

A national search began late last year after the departure of Nicolle Davies, who stepped down as executive director on Dec. 1, 2018, due to family reasons. Darlene Jackson, the deputy director, has been acting executive director since Davies’ departure.

The library’s board of trustees hired Bradbury Miller Associates, an executive recruitment firm that specializes in locating talent for libraries. The firm, which was hired in the previous 2016 selection of the executive director, had already gathered input from the library’s board, staff, community representatives and library leaders across the state to better understand the area’s needs and the issues facing Charleston County Public Library. That information was used again to develop a national recruiting effort.

Last week, the pool of candidates was narrowed to four top candidates by a special library board search committee.

• To learn more about each of the candidates, visit the library’s website.

In other Good News:

Riley Reach.  State Rep. Mike Sottile, R-Charleston, has introduced H. 3928 with House colleagues to try to rename a portion of a navigational channel along the Charleston waterfront as “Riley Reach” to honor former Mayor Joe Riley.

Performance review.  Statehouse Report correspondent Lindsay Street outlined an idea being pushed by Berkeley County GOP state Rep. Sylleste Davis in the most recent issue of the publication.  She’s trying to get fellow legislators to sign on to a government efficiency study on how the state is spending its money. Similar studies have been done in other states, such as Texas, New Mexico and Florida.  The city of Charleston has embarked on a similar review of its spending.  Read more here.