Duncan Selects Louisville Library Director To Head County System

ba/dpl.pr 96-264 Contact: David Weaver, 301-217-6530
or Bonnie Ayers, 301-217-6536

DUNCAN SELECTS
LOUISVILLE LIBRARY DIRECTOR
TO HEAD COUNTY SYSTEM For Immediate Release: August 18, 1997

Harriet Henderson, director of the City of Louisville/Jefferson County Free Public
Library, has been selected by County Executive Douglas M. Duncan to head the Montgomery
County Department of Public Libraries.
Prior to serving in Kentucky for the past eight years, Henderson was director of
Libraries and Information Services and City Librarian in the Newport News, VA, Public
Library System and City Librarian and Reference Librarian at the Tyler, TX, Public Library.
Duncan, who introduced Henderson at a news conference today in Rockville, said the
selection was the result of "a widespread national, professional search," which attracted a high
quality group of applicants. Applications were received from 16 states and two foreign
countries. "This is a testimony," Duncan said, "to the very high regard in which the
Montgomery County Public Library system is held."
The position has been vacant since January 1997 when former director Agnes Griffen
resigned, after 16 years, to become director of the Tucson-Pima Public Library in Arizona.
In Kentucky, Henderson directed the joint city/county free library system with a
-more-
DUNCAN SELECTS .LIBRARY DIRECTOR 2-2-2-2

budget of $13 million, 16 branches and 400 employees, serving 650,000 persons. The
Montgomery County system has a budget of $25.1 million, 21 branches, more than 450
employees, and serves a population of 810,000.
"Her experience with a system similar in size and structure to ours, is a distinct
advantage," said Duncan. "She also brings a strong background in forging partnerships and
enlisting community support for libraries, while being supportive of staff development and
maintaining high standards for performance and customer service."
Maryland State Librarian Maurice Travillian, said Henderson is "an outstanding
choice. She's a nationally recognized leader in the profession, and we're happy to have her in
Maryland."
She received a B.A. from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas, and a M.L.S. from the
University of Texas at Austin in 1973.
Henderson, 48, is a member of the board of the Urban Libraries Council (comprised of
the largest library systems in the country) and is chairman of the Planning Group and Bylaws
and Organization Committee of the Public Library Association, which is the public library
arm of the American Library Association. Among her board memberships are the Kentucky
Author Forum, the Public Radio Partnership and the Louisville International Cultural Center.
Henderson's appointment is subject to confirmation by the County Council.

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