Prospect Heights Public Library begins search for director

As Prospect Heights Public Library Executive Director William McCully awaits his retirement in September, the search has begun for his replacement.

McCully, who’s been in charge of the Prospect Heights library for 12 years and worked as a library’s executive director for 37 years, announced his decision to retire as he approached his 65th birthday.

Much of what he named as noteworthy accomplishments during his tenure related to the library’s infrastructure: a deal to get municipally treated water, a new sign on Camp McDonald Road, the installment of backup generators and a renovation of the building’s interior in 2007 and 2008. He presided over the library’s 50th anniversary in 2007. And as he departs, the library is seeing its highest circulation numbers ever.

“This has been my 37th year of being a library director,” McCully said. “A lot has changed in that time, but the goal is still to help people find the information they need.”

Miriam Pollack is tasked with the job of finding someone who can maintain that level of service. The director of the consulting firm Miriam Pollack and Associates, she’s in charge of the search to replace McCully.

Pollack said the ideal candidate, while able to lead on his or her own, will help to preserve the library’s place in the community. The strength of the library, she said, depends on a strong connection with the people it serves.

“The staff has wonderful relationships with community members,” Pollack said. “They really talk about how there’s a real sense of family. They very strongly, when they talked to us about what they were looking for, said they want somebody to maintain that culture.”

Pollack said her firm will conduct a nationwide search consisting of both external and internal candidates. She said she expects a field of roughly 30 qualified candidates, which will be whittled down to around eight after two rounds of interviews. From there, the library’s board of directors will examine the qualifications of the remaining candidates and interview four of them for the position.

Both McCully and Pollack said, despite the regime change, the library’s patrons shouldn’t expect a radical departure from the status quo.

“The board and the staff are very happy with the library,” Pollack said. “They’re very happy with the way things are going now.”