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Contact: July Cole
Associate Human Resources Analyst
or
Sarah Dentan
Acting Deputy Director
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6195
 

BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY HIRES BETH POLLARD
AS INTERIM DIRECTOR OF LIBRARY SERVICES
 

Berkeley, California (November 6, 2015) – The Berkeley Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) has appointed Beth Pollard as the Interim Director of Library Services, Chair Abigail Franklin announced today.

Filling the vacancy from the departure of former Director Jeff Scott in September, Pollard will step in to provide management oversight for the Library as it prepares to recruit a new director.  

Pollard, the former City Manager of Albany, served this past year as Interim Deputy City Manager for the City of Berkeley for six months during the recruitment process for the Deputy City Manager position.

“Beth has just the right combination of strong management skills, leadership ability, and familiarity with Berkeley to help guide us during this transition,” said Abigail Franklin, Board Chair.

“We have tremendous talent in our Library staff,” said Franklin, “on whom Beth can rely for a wide range of library services expertise to complement her general management insight and experience.”

The Board is especially appreciative of current Acting Director Sarah Dentan, whom it tapped to step in immediately after Scott’s departure, Franklin said.   She will return to her duties as Acting Deputy Director in addition to Library Services Manager.
Included in Pollard’s background is a period as Acting Director of the San Anselmo Library and service on the International City/County Management Association’s Local Government-Public Library Partnership Initiative.

Pollard said she is thrilled to be returning to work in Berkeley, and in particular in the Library. “Libraries grow minds and expand hearts,” said Pollard, “and Berkeley is a leader in seeing that growth and expansion are available to everyone.”

“I look forward to partnering with Berkeley Public Library’s enthusiastic and dedicated Board, Staff, Friends, Foundation, and community to maintain excellent library services over the coming months,” she added.

Before serving as Albany’s City Manager for 12 years, Pollard worked for the towns of Fairfax and San Anselmo for 20 years, starting as a secretary and working her way to San Anselmo Town Administrator after getting a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Cal State Hayward/East Bay.
Library Trustee Winston Burton underscored his enthusiasm for Pollard’s appointment, “Beth has proven herself as a respected community leader.  She has a demonstrated ability to work well with management and line staff of various cultures and ethnicities.”

Pollard will start in the position November 9 and serve until a new Director is appointed, anticipated for Spring 2016.
 

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Contact: Isobel Schneider, Librarian
Berkeley Public Library
510-981-6150
ischneider@cityofberkeley.info

Berkeley, November 5, 2015— Author Patty Enrado presents her debut novel, A Village in the Fields, at the Berkeley Public Library on Saturday, December 6, 2015, at 2:00 – 3:30 pm. Enrado reads from her historical novel and discusses the Filipino-American farm workers who sparked the historic Delano Grape Strike in September 1965, which led to the formation of the United Farm Workers union.  This FREE program takes place in the 3rd Floor Community Meeting Room of the Central Library.  For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6150.

In her debut novel, Patty Enrado highlights a compelling but buried piece of American history: the Filipino-American contribution to the farm labor movement. Fifty years ago, September 8, 1965, Filipino farm workers walked out of the fields and sparked the United Farm Workers Union movement. This intricately detailed story of love, loss, and human dignity spans more than eight decades and sweeps from the Philippines to the United States. In the vein of The Grapes of Wrath, A Village in the Fields pays tribute to the sacrifices that Filipino immigrant farm workers made to bring justice to the fields.

To write this novel, Patty Enrado, the daughter of a farm worker, researched and interviewed Filipino farm laborers who were involved in the labor movement including her own family members. This intricately detailed story of love, loss, and human dignity spans more than eight decades and sweeps from the Philippines to the United States. In the vein of The Grapes of Wrath, A Village in the Fields pays tribute to the sacrifices that Filipino immigrant farm workers made to bring justice to the fields.

For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6150.

This free program is presented jointly with Eastwind Books of Berkeley, www.asiabookcenter.com

The Central Library is located at 2090 Kittredge Street and is open Monday, noon - 8:00pm, Tuesday, 10:00am - 8:00pm, Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00am - 6:00pm, and Sunday from 1:00pm - 5:00pm.  

Wheelchair accessible. For questions, to request a sign language interpreter or other accommodations for this event, please call (510) 981-6195 (voice) or (510) 548-1240 (TTY); at least five working days will help ensure availability. Please refrain from wearing scented products to public programs. Visit the library’s website: www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org.

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