Permanent ELPL Director Interviews to Begin in January
The East Lansing Public Library (ELPL) Board of Trustees discussed its ongoing search for a permanent library director and moving forward with new hires during the Wednesday (Nov. 15) meeting.
The Permanent Director Search Subcommittee, led by President Amy Zaagman and Vice President Pamela Smith, posted the position and, as of the Wednesday meeting, received nine submissions. Deadline for applications was Friday (Nov. 17).
The subcommittee will look at the applications during its next meeting the last week of November and make recommendations to the board for the first set of interviews.

“We have a good crop and are expecting we will get a few more this week,” Zaagman said.
The subcommittee expects to present its findings and recommendations to the board for the first round of interviews at the next library board meeting on Dec. 13.
The week of Jan. 8 will be the preliminary Zoom interviews of candidates and the board plans to hold a special meeting for the final set of interviews the last week of January.
The library will jump right into the FY2025 Action Plan.
The Subcommittee for Strategic Planning, led by Shawn Nicholson and Polly Synk, also presented their plan for moving forward.
The subcommittee followed the city’s format to create a first draft of a strategic plan, but is looking for recommendations and input from the board and community members.
“Part of the strategic planning process is to encourage participation and shared envisioning,” Nicholson said. “The more you can share, the more we appreciate that.”
The board approved meeting dates as well as ELPL closures for the 2025 Fiscal Year.
The board and Interim Library Director Angelo Moreno discussed the FY2023 Action Plan as well as moving forward with a Fiscal Year (FY)2024/FY2025 Action Plan.
With an interim director and lots of change at the library, the board decided it would be best to skip a FY2024 Action Plan, as many of the goals and objectives for FY2024 are those that were not completed in FY2023.
Therefore, the board and interim director plan to move forward with a FY2025 Action Plan, simply starting earlier in order to assist with strategic planning and budget.

Moreno is moving forward with the budget presentation for the next year. He said he learned a lot about budgeting and guidelines from the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department as well as from the Michigan Library Association (MLA) conference he attended last month.
In the coming weeks, he will be learning how to use the system to manage the library’s budget, as well as looking at budget transaction reports and comparing them to the last fiscal year.
In December, the city will discuss financial priorities, which the library has contributed to in previous years.
In February, the board and director will finalize their budget request and narrative. And in April, the board will present a final request to Council.
ELPL is celebrating 100 years of service in the community.
The library is celebrating a century of service in the City of East Lansing and has seen a lot of big changes over the years. To celebrate this milestone, the Friends of the East Lansing Public Library are inviting patrons to contribute $100 in honor of 100 years.

“ELPL’s journey began in 1923 when dedicated volunteers operated from a single room in the People’s Church,” the Friends of ELPL website says. “Today it stands as a treasure trove of books, e-books, and countless resources, thanks to community supported ten-year bonds.”
Community members can donate online, visit ELPL’s Public Service Desk to donate or send a check.
There are more new hires at the library and October was a successful month.
This month, the library welcomed two new hires onto its team: Collections and Technical Services Librarian Evaskis-Garrett and Teen Service and School Liaison Librarian Zandra Blake.
With the help of these new hires, along with the rest of the library staff, Moreno said ELPL had a successful month of October.
The director’s report highlighted an increase in circulation and visits to the library, as well as many well-attended STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) programs, teen programs and youth programs.
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