Arlington Heights Memorial
LIBRARY JANUARY 2019
adding value in your life
Meet Our New Executive Director
Mike Driskell The Arlington Heights Memorial Library (AHML) began a new chapter on November 20 when the Board of Library Trustees unanimously voted to name Mike Driskell as executive director. The board appointed Driskell following a national search led by executive search firm John Keister and Associates in Vernon Hills and interviews with four finalists. Board of Library Trustees President Debbie Smart cited Driskell’s “honesty, integrity and demonstrated work ethic” in addition to his leadership credentials. Driskell brings 18 years of library management experience to his new role including serving as AHML’s information technology manager, director of administration and as the interim executive director since September 2017. We recently caught up with Mike to talk about his new role and what’s ahead in the new year at the library.
Describe your first few weeks as the library’s executive director.
It has been busy with a lot of planning and working with staff to evaluate what’s in store for 2019. Most of the planning is tied to our strategic plan. Can you tell us about some of those plans? One of the major goals in the strategic plan is to engage with the community in new ways. So for example, we are looking at adding pickup lockers out in the community, where customers will be able to pick up their library items 24/7. We will continue to make improvements in accessibility and explore other ways to partner with organizations within the Village. What other new things can library customers expect to see in 2019?
We are looking at technology and ways to improve the digital presence of the library.
We are also working toward earning the designation as a Family Place Library. A Family Place Library is a service model built to support children, families and caregivers in the areas of literacy, early childhood development and parent education. Outside of work, what is your favorite thing to do at the library?
I like the databases. I use them a lot. Being a student myself right now, the databases have been key in doing research. Everyone should check them out. Any other thoughts or goals as we begin 2019?
To continue to engage with the community and to innovate and make the library a better place to work and visit. I want AHML to be a leader, not only among libraries, but also in our community.