City hires new library director

Terri Washburn

Washburn, from Chewelah, Wash., will succeed Jo Cowling, who announced last summer her plans to retire at the end of the year. Cowling has worked for the city since January 1984.

Mayor Colleen Johnson said she is pleased that the long search for a new library director is at an end.

The city’s search team included members of the La Grande Library Commission, current library staff, one member of the La Grande Community Library Foundation, one member of the city council, the library director of Eastern Oregon University, the city’s Community and Economic Development director and at-large city residents.

The team sorted through 18 applications, and by October narrowed the field

to four finalists: Washburn, Ken Watson of La Grande, Geraldine De Rooy of Vancouver, Wash., and Hollis Helmici of El Dorado, Kan.

The four appeared in a public forum at the local library on Oct. 28, all of them talking about their vision for Cook Memorial Library.

Following the forum, the field was narrowed to two candidates, with City Manager Robert Strope tasked with making the final selection. Strope announced the hiring Tuesday.

“All four of the finalists were very well qualified,” Strope said. “Terri has experience in Oregon. She worked in St. Helens, which is a community similar to ours. Her reference checks came back really well, and she is a good fit for us.”

Johnson was among those who attended the Oct. 28 forum. She said she thought all four candidates were exceptional.

“We had a really great pool of applicants, and I know it was a hard decision for the search team and for Robert,” she said.

Washburn currently works as the manager of the Chewelah Library, a part of the Stevens County Rural Library District.

She has worked in library services since 1991. In Oregon, she worked seven years as the executive director of the St. Helens Library, and three years as a branch program manager for the Douglas County library system.

From 1987 to 1993, Washburn also had a career as a flight attendant. She worked for Trans World Airlines, Ozark Airlines and also served as the vice president of the Association of Flight Attendants Master Executive Council.

She has a master’s degree in library and informational science from the University of Missouri, and a master’s in public administration from Southern Illinois University.

Attempts to contact her Tuesday  and this morning were unsuccessful.

Strope said Washburn will come on board Dec. 21.