Lisbon is looking for a new full-time library director, with Amy White announcing her retirement this coming February.
And as library board president Rich Eskelsen noted, filling the shoes White leaves behind will be big shoes to fill.
As was noted at the Lisbon City Council meeting, when White first started at the library, the space was just a repository of the books the community had.
The building was outdated and in need of improvements, including the renovation of Lisbon’s Heritage Hall. That alone is just a huge accomplishment for any city to have done. Heritage Hall is indeed a jewel of the Lisbon community, which hosts all sorts of community events and cultural events – musician performances, speech showcase for high school students, puppet shows and other speaking events.
White noted in a statement that one of the biggest things that has helped the library has been pursuing partnerships with other partners. Those partnerships include with Cole Library, area banks, both school systems, Cornell College, Southeast Linn Community Center and a number of other important organizations in each community. Working with artists and performing groups, building the technology that today’s patrons rely on.
We wholeheartedly agree with Mike Williams statement that filling that library director’s full-time position is important to the community of Lisbon, and that the library Lisbon has now is a gem in the community allowed to shine by those many partnerships that were investigated by the current director to find the facets that reflect the needs of every patron in the Lisbon community.
That next director needs to have that same passion of keeping with the communities needs and values and championing the arts, culture and other things that make modern libraries more than places people go to seek out books. We’re sure the board will find the right candidate for the community and wish them well in their search and commend White for all she has done in the past decades to make the library what it is today.
Sun Editorial: Lisbon’s library shines because of the dedication of director, community involvement
December 7, 2023