Rural Library District Hires Director

WALLA WALLA - The Walla Walla County Rural Library District recently announced the appointment of Barbara (Bobbie) Mor­gan to be its new Executive Director. Morgan comes to Walla Walla from Putnam County Library District in Hennepin, Illinois, where she has been Director for the past year. Morgan received her BA in Textile Design in 1981 and Masters in Library Science in 1989 from the University of Washington.

Morgan began her library career at Clermont County Public Library in Batavia Ohio where she served as Young Adult librarian before advancing to the position of Children's Librarian and Assistant Branch Head at Kenton County Public Li­brary, Covington, Kentucky. She then became Youth Ser­vices Coordinator and Com­munity Representative for the Newport News Public Library in Newport News, Virginia. After five years Morgan was hired to become the Director of Children's Services for the Georgia Public Library Service in Atlanta.

In 2009 Morgan took on the challenge of rebuild­ing the library system of Cameron Parish, Louisiana, which had been devastated by Hurricanes Rita and Ike. She remained there until 2012, creating new facili­ties, policies and procedures to replace those lost to the storms, training unskilled workers to become branch heads, and managing $4.7 million in FEMA contracts.

The District believes that Morgan's deep commitment to youth services and rural communities and her proven management skills and ex­perience with building pro­grams, community partner­ships and public contracts have made her a perfect fit for carrying out the strategic planning goals and day to day service values of the District. Morgan will take up her new duties with the Walla Walla County Rural Library District in January.