The Portland Public Library board of trustees said in a news release Tuesday afternoon that it has selected Sarah Campbell as its next executive director.

Campbell, the library’s associate director, was selected after a nine-month national search to replace Stephen Podgajny, who announced last June that he was retiring after nine years as director.

Library board President Eric Altholz said in a written statement that Campbell “has a compelling vision for the future of the library.”

“Sarah is a thoughtful and articulate leader whose passion for public libraries, and Portland Public Library in particular, is infectious,” Altholtz said.

Campbell has been with the library for the last 14 years. Prior to being named associate director in April 2013, she led the library’s Lending Services, Technical Services and Systems Department for 12 years. She also serves on the NetworkMaine Council, which manages the Internet service network for Maine’s schools and libraries, and as a delegate from the Americas Region on the OCLC Global Council, which advises the largest nonprofit library services cooperative in the world.

Campbell’s appointment becomes effective July 11, just in time to begin planning the library’s 150th birthday in 2017.

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“I am very excited to work with PPL’s talented staff to expand the library’s forward-looking programs and services and its growing number of partnerships with authors, leaders, businesses, and other nonprofits,” Campbell said in a written statement. “We are dedicated to strengthening the community, to serving as a critical educational resource for our fellow citizens, and to telling Portland’s amazing story. Portland is on the move – and PPL is on the move with it.”

Chartered in 1867, the library claims to be Maine’s oldest and largest public library system and is the most visited cultural institution in Maine, serving 675,000 visitors annually at four branch locations and a mobile library.

This story will be updated.

Randy Billings can be contacted at 791-6346 or at:

rbillings@pressherald.com

Twitter: @randybillings


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