Grove City, Westland: Meredith Wickham excited to join Southwest Public Libraries
An oncoming snowstorm was on Meredith Wickham s mind Feb. 15.
Southwest Public Libraries new director, who grew up in South Carolina and previously worked at library systems in her home state and in Mississippi, said she was wondering what driving through several inches of snow would be like.
But the winter weather was giving her no second thoughts about her decision to accept her new job and move north. Southwest Public Libraries have such an incredible reputation within the librarian community, Wickham said. If you participate in the library world, you quickly learn that midwestern library systems and those in Ohio in particular are recognized as being the créme de la créme.
Mark Shaw closing book on 35-year career with Southwest Public Libraries
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When Mark Shaw joined the Southwest Public Libraries staff in January 1986, his task as treasurer was to keep watch over the financial books.
Since 2002, Shaw also has served as director of the SPL, which includes the Grove City and Westland Area libraries.
Shaw, 59, will close the book on his 35-year tenure when he retires Jan. 29. My background was in accounting and finance. That s what I majored in at college. I was never planning a library career, Shaw said. But as time went on, I grew more and more attached to the field.
Southwest Public Libraries: Meredith Wickham to succeed retiring Mark Shaw as director
The Southwest Public Libraries will have a new director starting Jan. 25.
The library board of trustees has chosen Meredith Wickham to succeed director Mark Shaw, who is retiring after 35 years.
The board had conducted a nationwide search with the assistance of executive search consultants Bradbury Miller Associates of Kansas City, Missouri, before appointing Wickham, who is the director of the First Regional Library based in Hernando, Mississippi, and who oversees operations for one of the largest public library systems in the state, according to a Dec. 29 release from Southwest Public Libraries.