Rick Meyer, Decatur Public Library
Statement of Concern
The Illinois Library Association’s Strategic Plan rightly and justly calls for a culture of diversity and inclusion. I applaud those efforts as my own library goes through the same self-reflexive process. I believe one form of diversity frequently gets forgotten—the diversity of libraries within the Association. Clearly there are Public, Academic, School and Special libraries—all with different needs and patrons—but even within those four types of libraries there is a wide range. Consider the extremes—Chicago Public, with an annual budget of nearly $76 million, and my hometown township library in Witt, IL, which has one part-time minimum wage employee and is bravely attempting to deliver important services to the community. Having been a director of a small rural library and now the director of a medium sized city library gives me some perspective on the relative resources and needs of libraries of different size. While more Illinoisans are served by the larger libraries there are a lot more of the smaller ones, and they have an extremely important role to play.
It would be my very great privilege to serve on the ILA Board of Directors and in doing so, serve the people of our great state. I’ve been a library director for nearly 10 years now, working with boards all the while. I’d like to give back to the profession. I know that together, Illinois libraries will continue to do great things, and if elected I promise to work hard on your behalf, regardless of the type or size of library in which you work.
Experience
Decatur Public Library
City Librarian, 2014-present
Robey Memorial Library, Waukon, IA
Director, 2010-2014
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Academic Hourly Retro Cataloger, 2009-2010
Education
MSLIS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009
BA Psychology, University of Illinois at Springfield, 1998
Professional Memberships and Activities
American Library Association, Member
Public Library Association, Member
Small Public Library Management Institute, Graduate, 2014
Illinois Library Association, Member
Legislative Recruiter, Central Illinois Legislative Breakfast, 2018, 2019, 2020
Legislative/Library Recruiter, Central Illinois Legislative Lunch, 2017
Awards Committee 2018-present, current Chair
Presenter, ILA Annual Conference, 2019
Directors University
Presenter, 2019
Illinois Heartland Library Association
SHARE Executive Council, 2016 to present
Vice Chair 2018
Chair 2019
Member Day Presenter, 2018
Allamakee County (Iowa) Library Association
Member 2010-2014, President 2013-2014
iREAD Summer Reading Programs
Latest Library JobLine Listings
