Arlington Heights library director to retire

Paula Moore, executive director of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, will retire in June after five years in the position, officials confirmed Thursday.

Moore, who will be 59 when she retires, has been on the library staff for 21 years.

The library board, told of Moore’s decision in November, has started a search for a new executive director, and advertisements include a page on the library’s website.

“She is extremely well respected,” said Kerry W. Pearson, president of the board. “The whole board was saddened to have her announce her retirement.”

Pearson said Moore has put the institution on the path to being a “library of the future,” starting with the updating of Kids’ World and continuing with plans to remodel other areas of the library to fit new technologies.

He praised Moore for leading the library “as technology has changed and the wants and needs of our customers have evolved.”

Moore also coordinated programs with village, park district and school officials to save tax dollars, he said.

The executive director said she is most proud of the library’s programs to help people looking for jobs, and said all of her accomplishments — including longer hours at the drive-up window and express checkout — really belong to the staff.

Before becoming executive director, Moore was manager of Kids’ World and coordinator of public services, which included all the programs that work with the public including reference and circulation.

The board would like the new executive director to start in May, and March 15 is the deadline for applications. The salary range on one job list is $116,000 to $142,000. Moore receives the higher salary.

“This is one of the leading libraries in the country,” said Pearson, “according to Library Journal, which only gives 1 percent of the libraries a five-star ranking.”

Moore will weigh in on candidates’ technical skills and “more importantly whether someone is a good fit for our library’s culture,” said Pearson.

Arlington Heights residents support the library because they value reading and the sense of community they find there, as well as the fact it strives to provide services that people want, said Moore.

Moore, a DuPage County native, and her husband plan to move to Vermont in retirement.