Library board appoints acting director, will undertake national search for new leadership
By Jason Emerson
Editor
Fayetteville Free Library Executive Director Sue Considine has resigned, and the library board has begun a search to hire new leadership.
Considine’s resignation was officially accepted by the board on July 18 at its regular meeting. The resignation will take effect on August 15, although Considine has already left the employ of the library.
The board immediately followed its acceptance of the resignation by the unanimous approval of Heather Matzel, an FFL senior librarian of 14 years, as the acting executive director.
The board will immediately begin undertaking a search for an interim executive director, with the candidate and terms of service to be approved by the board, and then move into the longer-term search for a permanent new executive director.
“Ms. Considine has been executive director of the library for the past 17 years and has helped the library become nationally and internationally renowned for its innovative programs, services, spaces and collections. She also helped establish one of the first library Makerspaces in the United States,” said FFL Board Co-president David Wheeler in a prepared statement after the board vote. “All of the trustees, staff members, employees and volunteers at the library wish Ms. Considine good luck and much success in her future endeavors.”
Considine told the Eagle Bulletin that she decided to leave the FFL in order to pursue “an exciting new opportunity” and, while that is being finalized, she is also consulting and speaking throughout the end of the year.
“I have been ready for new challenges for the past three or so years, so I am enthusiastic about what’s next,” Considine said. “The FFL staff is my family, and although I will miss working with them every day, I am deeply proud and profoundly grateful to have been a part of the team — we accomplished great things! I wish them, the volunteers, the board and, of course, our patrons and community continued success in the future.”
Considine became the FFL executive director in May 2001, and has brought the organization to national and international recognition in her 17 years during that time. Among its numerous accomplishments, the FFL was the first library in the United States to offer a permanent, public Makerspace where patrons could come together to create and collaborate, to share resources and knowledge.
Throughout her time at the FFL, Considine has used her passion for innovation and change to bring high quality services and programs to library patrons by integrating cutting edge technology and leveraging partnerships and support in the development of a state of the art information environment. She has described herself as a change agent in a fluid and dynamic field who believes that community aspirations, societal trends and technology should drive and inform all organizational development.
During Considine’s administration, the FFL has received the Library Journal’s Five Star rating for seven years.
Among her numerous awards, Considine has been a recipient of the 2012 NYLA Mary Bobinski Innovative Public Library Director award and both the 2013 Library Journal Mover & Shaker and the WCNY Women Who Make America awards. She received the White House “Champion of Change” award in 2013 and in 2016 received the PLA Charlie Robinson award for innovation and excellence in public library leadership.
Most recently, Considine was elected as one of two United States representatives to the Public Library Standing Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA); she has accepted the nomination to run for the Public Library Association (PLA) Board of Directors as a Councilor at Large; and she has been appointed to the American Library Association (ALA) Center for the Future of Libraries Advisory Board.
FFL Board Co-President Wheeler and Randi Ludwig said they hope the hiring of an interim executive director will be a “quick process,” but it may take two to three months. After that, the board will form a search committee as it begins the process to find a permanent executive director.
“This is an important position,” Wheeler said. “We have to make sure the person we ultimately hire is highly qualified.”
“We have some leads,” Ludwig added. “Our focus right now is on a smooth transition.”
Also during the board meeting, members from the Citizens for a Transparent Fayetteville Free Library — a group committed to ensuring transparency in library administration and operations — urged the board to use this time of leadership change to consider consolidating the FFL with the Manlius Library. CTFFL member Mary Karpinski said a consolidation would create cost savings and more efficiently use taxpayer money, and would increase accountability and transparency in library management and operations.
