Leffler Joins MoGro Library As Director

The Morton Grove Public Library has selected a new director, and she hails from another suburban library and has 20 years of experience in the field.

On Wednesday, the library announced its board tapped Pamela Leffler, assistant director at the Carol Stream Public Library, as of July 2. 

"The board and staff has done an excellent job, and I'm looking forward to starting," said Leffler, reached by phone Wednesday evening.

She said she felt she had a good rapport with the board members during her interviews, and said the Morton Grove Library has a good reputation.

She also hopes to be a good steward of public money.

"All public libraries are facing 'how do we serve the needs of our patrons with fewer resources?,'" she said. "I like to evaluate programs, to see 'do we need to keep doing this in the same way, or is there another way to do it that would save money?' We need to make sure taxpayers are getting the best value for their money."

Asked if she knew about the in the past year or two, she responded, "I know the Morton Grove Public Library has had some turbulent times, but I've had experience working with varying viewpoints and trying to reach consensus."

She's aware many patrons are concerned about the physical limitations of the aging library building. 

"As with so many of our public libraries, it was built at a time when we didn't have the technological demands we do now," she said. "While I think there are some limitations, I also think there's potential to work with what we have. We'll go from there."

Mark Albers, president of the library's board, said Leffler "will be a wonderful addition to both the library and our community as the MGPL moves forward with exciting things like an updated website, a new look for our Books & Beyond newsletter, the first-ever Read Fest and third upcoming TechFest this fall."

The board also praised the staff, especially Natalya Fishman and Kevin Justie, who served as co-directors since . 

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