Media contact:
Beth Dempsey, 248.349.7810 or beth@bethdempsey.com
July 31, 2007 (Chicago) -- Urban Libraries Council (ULC) has elected Charles Higueras, Director of Education Facilities at Oakland (CA)-based VBN Architects and current president of the San Francisco Public Library Commission, Chair of ULC Executive Board. As Chair, he will lead ULC�s 16-member board, its primary decision-making body, from June 2007 through June 2008. Representing both ULC members and major stakeholders of North America's major public libraries, the board sets direction and guides ULC's programs and its development.
Mr. Higueras has been an active member of ULC�s board since 2003, helping to shape programs that expand ULC�s mission to position libraries as tools for improving city life. His roots in libraries run deep. He was appointed to the San Francisco Public Library Commission in 1995 by Mayor Willie L. Brown and has been a tireless advocate for the library. He was closely involved with the 2000 passage of Proposal A, which secured a $107 million bond to expand and renovate San Francisco�s branch libraries. More recently, he was involved in the search and selection that led to Luis Herrara�s appointment as the new library director. However, his community involvement extends well beyond libraries � board memberships include schools, hospitals, and affordable housing developers. His vast and varied experience has built his reputation for invigorating public institutions not only through excellent design, but also through his unique ability to act as a citizens� advocate, ensuring an equal voice for all.
�ULC consistently seeks outside voices to ensure our organization remains outwardly focused,� said ULC President Mart�n G�mez. �Having Charles in this leadership role brings the best of both worlds � a fresh perspective and a true believer in the power of libraries to transform their communities.�
ULC membership also elected three new board members, who will replace three outgoing library trustee members. Susan M. Adams is the current President of the Cuyahoga County Public Library Board and brings experience in public relations, political campaign management, and volunteer recruitment. Okeima R. Lawrence, a Trustee for the Toronto Public Library, is the Community Grants Developer of the Youth Challenge Fund at the United Way of Greater Toronto. Keith Simmons, founding President of the Nashville Public Library Foundation and currently a member of its Board and Executive Committee, is the managing partner of Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC, and brings a specialty in public finance.
ULC is a membership organization of 170 of North America�s premier metropolitan public library systems and related library consultants and suppliers. ULC is respected for its research about issues facing urban libraries; its cultivation of innovations in library services to cities; and for its programs that groom the next generation of urban library leaders.
About the Urban Libraries Council
For more than 30 years the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) has worked to strengthen public libraries as an essential part of urban life. A membership organization of North America�s premier public library systems and the corporations that serve them, ULC serves as a forum for sharing best practices resulting from targeted research, education and forecasting. ULC�s programs are acclaimed for inspiring new organizational models that invigorate urban libraries and enrich the areas surrounding them. ULC is headquartered in Chicago. For more information, visit the group on the Web at www.urbanlibraries.org.
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