Monday, July 20, 2009

Cedar Rapids library board picks new director

Link to July 20 Cedar Rapids Gazette article.

Excerpt: Pending acceptance of an offer, the associate director at Douglas County Libraries in Castle Rock, Colo., will be the new director of the Cedar Rapids Public Library.

Robert Pasicznyuk, 45, of Colorado Springs will be offered the job as the library’s next director after a decision by the board of trustees last night. Board President Susan Corrigan was authorized to negotiate a contract with Pasicznyuk, and Corrigan said she anticipates a final outcome in the coming days.

“He’ll be instrumental in where we want to take this library in the future,” Corrigan said. “His use of technology at his current facility, and the things that they have done that provide a strong and cost-effective library system — those two things combined are very powerful.”

Pasicznyuk has spent the past 16 years at libraries in Colorado, including the last five years at Douglas County Libraries. He replaces Lori Barkema, who resigned in April 2008.

At Douglas County Libraries, Pasicznyuk spearheaded a transition to self-service checkout stations and automated returns, which helped the library keep pace during tremendous growth. Activity there has nearly doubled in the past four years, and circulation now runs around 8 million items per year.
(According to preliminary data from the Library Research Services, the 2008 circulation for Douglas County libraries was 7,196,027. 2004 circ was 3,609,624. That's a very impressive increase, one that none of Wisconsin's larger libraries can match. But I'll double-check my figures and let you know if I'm wrong.)

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