In late March, Denver Public Library invited three finalists for its soon-to-be-vacant executive director position to a three-day interview process.
But, as Denverite learned through public records, none of those candidates are moving forward, leaving a high possibility that Denver’s library system will be leaderless at the end of the month.
DPL has been looking for a new executive director since late January, when current City Librarian Michelle Jeske announced she would step down from the role at the end of April.
DPL officials were set to give an update on the city librarian search on April 2, according to a presentation uploaded to Denver City Council’s docket. A slide showed that three finalists were in town for multi-day interviews on the week of March 24. The slide also said the Library Commission planned to vote on its preferred candidate on April 7.
But that vote never happened. The meeting was canceled, and the search for Denver’s next head librarian will continue.
“The Search Committee is working on next steps to find the best person to lead DPL into the future,” said DPL Communications Manager Olivia Gallegos. “In the interim, we are confident that our leadership team will continue to keep our work moving forward.”
In an email sent by library officials to staffers, leadership confirmed that Jeske will still leave at the end of April and that the search committee had hoped to find a replacement by then.
“In partnership, we are working on a temporary plan to ensure the organization’s work continues without disruption,” stated the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Denverite.
Whoever takes over as head librarian will shepherd the system through another period of growth if the Vibrant Denver bond package is approved by voters. DPL is still wrapping up work on renovations included in the city’s 2017 bond measure.
The future city librarian also may have to navigate a union organizing effort by employees. Denver library workers have already loosely organized into an unrecognized union and were among the voices successfully calling for expanded collective bargaining rights for city employees.
