News Nearby: Gwinnett Library Looking for a New Direction

Soon the Gwinnett public library system will begin the search for a new executive director. But that will only be part of the challenge for the system, which has been financially hard hit in recent years.

Board Chairman Dick Goodman, who also is mayor pro tem of Suwanee, said Thursday that the "nationwide" search for a new executive director would begin after Monday's board meeting. The new leader would replace Nancy Stanbery-Kellam, who was ousted by the board Wednesday.

But other challenges remain. The libraries faced a $1 million cut in funding from Gwinnett County this year, to go with cutbacks in past years. And such unique fund-raising methods as selling ads on bookmarks were shelved.

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"Libraries are changing all over the country" because of reduced funding and new technology, Goodman said. He said a task for the system would be to decide "what services to give priority to.

"The most important thing is to provide services that are not available elsewhere in the county."

In January, Gwinnett commissioners urged that the library find a new business model. Chairman Charlotte Nash noted then that Gwinnett still was spending more on library materials than nearby Cobb County.