25 - Library Director Appointment

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Item No. 25 TO: Mayor & City Council FROM: Grayson Path, City Manager Rob Vine, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT: Library Director Appointment of Connie Lawman City Charter Section 23 DATE: July 25, 2022 BACKGROUND: The Library Director position has been vacant since June 2022 following the resignation of Timothy DeGhelder. It therefore became the task of the City Manager and Assistant City Manager to seek out and select an appropriate candidate to fill this position. A copy of the Job Description is found below. The City Manager and Assistant City Manager worked with Library Advisory Board Members Jennifer Cullum and Steve Hellman, as well as Sandy Collard, Human Resource and Civil Service Director, to serve as an Interview Team. A total of three individuals applied and two were interviewed. STATUS OF ISSUE: I am pleased to present to you Connie Lawman as our selection for Library Director. Ms. Lawman was most recently a manager with the Louisiana Tech University Library system, and has previous experience as manager and director for various school and municipal libraries over the past ten years. She has displayed a great depth of knowledge and understanding that matches the job description. She has a Master of Library Science, ALA Accredited, which is a requirement for accreditation of our Library in the State of Texas. I am very impressed with this individual, both in her experience as well as her character. She possesses the right combination of potential, experience, attitude, energy, professionalism and civility that I want to see as the leader of the Library. She holds an impressive array of education and training credentials that have helped prepare her to take on the challenges of leading the Library as its new Director.