East Lansing Public Library Moving Forward in Search for New Director
The East Lansing Public Library Board of Trustees is one step closer to finding a new director following the unexpected departure previous Director Kevin King in July.
At a special meeting on Oct. 29, the board decided to pursue a contract with Bradbury Miller Associates to lead the search for the next ELPL director. Bradbury Miller is well known in the library world, and proposed leading a 17-week search process with a base cost to the library of $40,000.
The proposal from Bradbury Miller is both the most expensive and has the longest expected timeline of the proposals received by ELPL. A library director acts as a jack of all trades and it can be hard to find quality candidates, it was explained at the meeting.
“Being a director is a very particular skill set,” Interim Director Chrissie Evaskis-Garrett said. “They manage and balance budgets, network throughout the community, bring the community together, and also understand state laws and other rules and regulations that govern librarianship within the communities in which they serve.”
The nationwide search process will include advertising and marketing, background checks, initial interviews, and narrowing the pool of candidates to present the top choices to the board.
The board unanimously approved extending a contract to Bradbury Miller at the Nov. 19 meeting. Although the base contract proposal is $40,000, the board added $15,000 as a contingency in case additional costs may arise throughout the process.
The library board of trustees was highly involved in the search process that resulted in hiring former director Kevin King in 2024. Board members helped craft the job description, advertise the position, review applications and conduct preliminary interviews with candidates. Trustee Amy Zaagman wondered at the Nov. 19 meeting if some of the materials produced in 2024 could be used for this search.
“The committee spent so much time putting the job descriptions together,” Zaagman said. “It’s not been that long, so perhaps there’s great work there that might only need some minor tweaking by us and a search firm to be ready to put it out again.”
Board President Ameenah Asante reported that she met with an associate from Bradbury Miller and learned it will be hard to shorten the 17-week time frame or cost of the search, even with some of the previous work the board has put in.
“Regarding the board’s concern around the work that was done in the past director search, [it was] absolutely respected, and they want to be able to work with what has already been provided,” Asante said. “In regards to shaving off time or cost, she didn’t see how either would be possible because, say for instance, they are able to use the director job description, there’s still more work on the other side that’s put in, it basically balances out.”
Ultimately, the board decided that a search subcommittee made up of Asante and Trustee Shelley Boyd will meet with Bradbury Miller to discuss next steps and establish a timeline for the director search.
The ELPL Non-Supervisory Union weighed in about qualities they’d like to see with the new director. Mainly, the union recommends that the new director either move to the Greater Lansing/East Lansing area or have previously demonstrated commitment to the East Lansing community.
The union also recommended the new director’s salary be based on experience, but leave room for growth so they are incentivized to stay at ELPL.
The library, which is operating under its fourth leader in less than three years, hopes the search will bring an end to the turnover of key employees ELPL has experienced since former Director Kristin Shelley and former Assistant Director Brice Bush both resigned in 2023.
Angelo Moreno served as interim director until the board hired King in early 2024. In July 2025, King resigned to work as the library solutions strategist at Midwest Tape/Hoopla. Since then, Evaskis-Garrett has been serving as director on an interim basis.