Red Deer Public Library (RDPL) has found its new chief executive officer.
Shelley Ross was named CEO Friday, and will start in Red Deer on Jan. 2, 2018.
Earlier this year, Christina Wilson announced she will retire from her CEO position in December. Ross, a friend of Wilson, reached out to her to ask about the position.
Ross worked in libraries, and management in public and academic libraries for 25 years. She was the chief librarian at Medicine Hat Public Library for the last seven years, and is a former librarian at the University of Lethbridge and Environmental Law Centre in Edmonton.
“I’m very excited to face some new challenges,” Ross said. “I feel like I know the pieces of what to do in Red Deer, they will just have different faces on them and the amounts will be a little bigger across the board.”
Ross grew up west of Edmonton and has a nephew who lives in Red Deer.
Ross said libraries have to be adaptable.
“We don’t know what new needs will be, not because I don’t know about the Red Deer Public Library, but because we don’t know what will come in the future,” she said.
Jim Taylor, RDPL board chair, said Ross was the best fit for the future of RDPL.
“Shelley has an impressive record of accomplishment and a great personality as well. We are delighted that she has accepted the position and look forward to benefiting from all the expertise and ideas she has to offer,” said Taylor.
Ross said she welcomes anyone to stop by her office to say hello or to discuss any library stories or issues as soon as she begins Jan. 2.
“Red Deer Public Library is a really happening place. It’s doing all the things a public library should do and lots of extra things,” said Ross.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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