Employment

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

The Camden Public Library Board of Trustees seeks an Executive Director to replace its retiring long-term Executive Director, who has admirably led this Maine library since 2008.

Thanks to benefactor Mary Louise Curtis Bok, the Camden Public Library, situated on the hill at the head of Camden Harbor, opened on June 11, 1928. A significant expansion, the Centennial Wing, completed in September 1996, now houses the stacks and includes a busy community meeting space and a large, light and airy Children’s Room with a very special attached Children’s Garden. This expansion allowed the original library building to be restored as a Reading Room stocked with a wide assortment of periodicals and newspapers, and furnished with tables and chairs for quiet reading. The History Center holds a large collection of local and regional historical documents, yearbooks from Camden-Rockport High School and, on microfilm, issues of the Camden Herald dating back to 1869. In 1931, Mary Louise Curtis Bok donated the adjoining land now known as the Amphitheatre and commissioned landscape architect Fletcher Steele to create a setting of enduring natural beauty and a cultural center for the town of Camden. Through her generosity, the library grounds also include Harbor Park, designed at her behest by the Olmsted Brothers Company. The Camden Public Library and its grounds are a National Historic Landmark.

In 2022, the Camden Public Library once again received a Five-Star Rating from Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service, one of only 85 libraries in the United States so recognized that year and the only one in Maine. The ratings measure a library’s per-capita-use statistics and compare them to those of other similar libraries. The Camden Public Library’s Five-Star Rating reflects how our community and visitors engage with the Library; it also underscores the support our Library’s services and programs receive—a support that continued unabated through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.

Key responsibilities of the Library’s Executive Director include developing and executing strategic initiatives; program planning and implementation; financial management and fundraising; grounds and facilities management; and the management of human resources. Applicants will receive the full job description.

Desirable qualifications include a Master of Library and Information Science degree from an ALA-accredited program, or the equivalent in education and experience; at least six years of experience in the library field, with at least five years of library administrative experience preferred; thorough knowledge of the practices and principles of library administration and the principles of library and information science; and a working knowledge of library automation and information databases.

Compensation includes a starting salary between $85,000 – $105,000, depending on the candidate’s qualifications, as well as an excellent benefits package.

Camden is a town of some 5,000 year-round residents (and many summer visitors) on the western shore of Maine’s Penobscot Bay approximately 90 miles northeast of Portland and 200 miles northeast of Boston. The Camden Public Library, “The Heart of Our Town,” is an anchor for the community: We bring people together to read, connect and discover. Please take a moment to tour our historic Library and its magnificent grounds.

Interested applicants should apply with a cover letter and résumé to the Search Committee via HR Consultant Laurie Bouchard: laurie@lbouchardllc.com.

The Camden Public Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer.