Carrie Plymire begins as new director of Calvert Library (press release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2013

 

Calvert Library’s new director, Carrie Plymire, started work on July 8, 2013 and hit the ground running, scheduling meetings with key employees and reviewing the library’s work plan for the new fiscal year.  She brings an enthusiasm for community building and a commitment to customer service so the Board of Library Trustees expects a smooth transition and continuation of the high-quality service and programming offered by the library’s four locations.  Kip Hine, Board President said, “We had a wide-reaching search and attracted applicants from around the country.  We were pleased to find that the best candidate is already well-connected in Maryland’s active library community.”

 

Plymire comes to Calvert County from Hagerstown, Maryland where she was the Technical Services Supervisor for the Western Maryland Regional Library (WMRL). She recently coordinated the complicated and intensive project to select and migrate WMRL plus two other counties’ systems to a new ILS.  For the uninitiated, ILS stands for “integrated library system” and is library jargon for the system they use to catalog all library materials, the website customers use to look for and place holds on books, and the software used by staff to manage the process of ordering, adding and circulating items.  The migration was no small project yet Washington County Free Library Director Mary Baykan described the process under Plymire’s leadership as having been managed “without delays or stumbles.”  Even more impressive was the fact that she made this happen in a team environment made up of people who had not worked together previously. 

 

Plymire earned her Masters in Library and Information Sciences from Drexel University, an institution with a great reputation for a rigorous and tech-oriented degree.  Her undergraduate degree was done at St. John’s College where the focus is on studying the “Great Books” of the western world.  The emphasis on critical analysis and intense discussion has served her well in her leadership roles.  Plymire has recently become President of the Maryland Library Association and has served other leadership positions in the association throughout her career.  She is a graduate of the Maryland Library Leadership Institute and Leadership Washington County where she also served as Board Secretary. In her spare time, she loves to cook, garden, and of course, read.  According to Plymire, “Pat has left Calvert Library in extremely good order and the staff are smart and enthusiastic. I look forward to connecting with the community and will certainly have new ideas but I can see that the public is pleased with what they have here.” 

 

According to Marcia Hammett, Prince Frederick branch manager and acting director between Patricia Hofmann’s retirement and Plymire’s start date, “Carrie is coming into a system of smoothly running teams who provide excellent customer service and put together a wide range of valuable workshops and exciting events. We are eager to see what her new leadership brings and expect fresh inspiration.”

For more information, call Robyn Truslow at Calvert Library Prince Frederick at 410-535-0291 or 301-855-1862.

 

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Robyn Truslow

Public Relations Coordinator

Calvert Library

850 Costley Way

Prince Frederick, MD  20678

410-535-0291

410-535-3022 Fax

rtruslow@somd.lib.md.us