Library director applicants considered

By Robin Mero

Posted: July 28, 2009 at 6:46 a.m.

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FAYETTEVILLE — As a list of candidates for Fayetteville's new library director was being scrutinized Monday, a 15th application had just arrived.

The Fayetteville Public Library's executive director search committee met Monday afternoon to begin considering applicants from Maryland, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Ohio and North Carolina and several from Fayetteville.

Another meeting is scheduled for Aug. 5. In the meantime, committee members Dan Ferritor, Marla Hunt and Mike Malone will be contacting references and gathering more information about candidates.

They would like to narrow the application pool and submit a short list to thefull library board of trustees soon, Malone said.

"There are some quality applications in the mix - a diverse pool," Malone said.

One applicant, Shawna Thorup, is the library's current operations director.

"We're pleased to see one candidate from the library," Malone said. "But this is a world-class library, and we want to make sure we cast our net as widely as possible. It does deserve a comprehensive search."

On May 18, the current executive director, Louise Schaper, announced plans to retire Oct. 30. She has served as executive director for 12 years.

The 15th candidate is Kassie Thompson, is a secretary for General Orthopedics in Fayetteville. From 2007 to 2009, she was a teacher's aide for Mountain Home Montessori Preschool and from 2005 to 2007 was a circulation/ children's room assistant for the Baxter County Library.

The other 14 candidates, and qualifications, were listed in the Sunday edition of the Northwest Arkansas Times.

News, Pages 1, 7 on 07/28/2009

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