Lisbon will be looking for a full-time library director, replacing Amy White who has announced her intention to retire in February 2024.
Rich Eskelsen, president of the Lisbon Library Board, said he and a committee have been researching this since White made her request in August.
“We know Amy will be leaving us big shoes to fill,” Eskelsen said.
White has been library director at Lisbon for 34 years.
She told the Library Board that the library has come a long way in the 34 years she has served as director.
“When I started 34 years ago, the library was little more than a depository of donated books,” White said. “The building, the furnishings and the books were outdated and the second floor was nothing more than a dirty old attic with no electricity. With a forward-thinking library board and staff and support of our city council, we built a library that reflects our community and serves the needs of its members.”
White said partnerships with many different organizations in the community, including the schools, Cole Library and area businesses, have helped grow the programming and resources available at the library, and it will be important for any new director to continue those partnerships.
Heritage Hall was renovated in 1997 and the Friends of the Lisbon Library organization was formed in 2014.
Eskelsen said his committee was seeking to hire a full-time library director, with those partnership opportunities being a high priority for the position.
“It’s more important than ever for our community to have a full-time library director position,” Eskelsen said.
The position will be roughly a $21 to $24 per hour salary range, based on level of experience, and the board is hoping to have the position advertised and a potential hire made before White’s retirement allow some training with the position.
Council member Mike Williams said that White has proven to be a joy as the library director, and that the library is extremely important to the community of Lisbon.
“Once you lose that building, it’s hard to get it back,” Williams said. “People should have seen what Heritage Hall was before that remodel in 1997, and that room is now a classic space for all sorts of library and community programming.”
City administrator Brandon Siggins said hiring a director full-time would be a budget neutral item, but will require an amendment to allow the benefits provided the position this year.