By Jonathan Samples | Bugle Staff
nweditor@buglenewspapers.com
@DownersGrvBugle
The Woodridge Public Library Board of Trustees selected a current Joliet Library administrator as its next director.
Pam Dubé, currently the deputy director of Joliet Public Library, will assume her new role May 2, replacing longtime administrator Susan McNeil-Marshall.
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Pam Dubé currently the deputy director of Joliet Public Library, will assume her new role May 2.
The former director joined the Woodridge Library staff in 2002 as the head of the adult reference department. In June 2007, she was appointed to interim library director. Marshall was hired as the permanent director six months later, and she immediately set out to improve the library’s offerings and communicate the importance of the library as an intellectual center.
Marshall announced her plans to retire last fall, setting March 31 as the final day in a public library career that spanned more than 40 years.
“Susan McNeil-Marshall ends her service to library patrons and the Woodridge community with a building and staff prepared to meet the needs of the patrons and community they serve,” library spokeswoman Patti Naisbitt said in a recent news release announcing Marshall’s last day. “Her leadership, personal commitment, and welcoming and warm presence will be missed.”
During a March 28 public meeting, the library board unanimously selected Dubé as Marshall’s replacement.
In choosing Dubé, board President Jay Tiede cited her extensive experience and ability to clearly communicate her vision for the future of the Woodridge Library.
For more than a decade Dubé has been involved with the coordination of operational needs, staff supervision, budgeting and strategic planning work. The library said these aspects of her experience are essential to the administration of a public library.
“Her advocacy work and collaboration with patrons of the Joliet Public Library, as well as with community groups and staff match well with the culture of the Woodridge Public Library,” Naisbitt added.
In addition to her library experience, Dubé holds a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Naisbitt said the board did not appoint an interim director for the month of April, adding that the library’s management team will perform any necessary tasks during the interim period.