Evanston library gets new director

City Manager Julia A. Carroll has announced the appointment of Mary M. Johns as the new director of the Evanston Public Library.

The new director will begin work Feb. 18.

Carroll says Johns’ appointment was the result of a national search and committee selection process that included input from library board members and staff, as well as administration from the city manager’s office.

Johns will be directly responsible for staffing, staff development, public relations and development, budget and planning. She will attend all meetings of the library board as well as city council and other committee meetings as necessary.

Johns comes from Lincoln, Neb., and served as director of public  library operations for LSSI, a consulting firm in Germantown, Md., that  provides library management services for communities across the United States.

At LSSI, Johns was responsible for operations support to public library accounts in Tennessee, Texas and Kansas. Her duties included assisting and mentoring management at local library sites regarding daily operations, identifying and developing infrastructure to support efficient operating practices, analyzed processes and practices to determine streamlining and efficiencies.

Prior to LSSI, Johns served in assistant library director capacities at municipal and county libraries including Lincoln City Libraries, Lincoln, Neb.; Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, Ariz.; and Chandler Public Library, Chandler, Ariz.    She holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of  Arizona.