Hello SWAN Board reps-
The self-nomination process concluded last week after an extension which resulted in three candidates for the three seats. I reached out to Anna Wassenaar last week letting her know that there was a third name that came forward and she would not have to run for a second term.
I have included the candidate statements below. I will be sending out a membership update, but I wanted to let you know first about the names and that we will not need to host an election for the three seats.
Ben Weseloh, West Chicago Public Library District
I submit my name for consideration to serve on the SWAN Board. I have nearly 30 years of professional library experience in both academic and public libraries, with the last 11 years as Library Director for the West Chicago Public Library District. I would like to serve on the SWAN Board to collaborate with the other board directors and the executive director to provide oversight, leadership, and strategic direction to continue, and potentially improve and expand, the historically strong support and services provided to member libraries.
Laura Van Cleve, Richton Park Public Library District
As the Director of a small library in the south suburbs, who is also under funded, we rely heavily on the services provided by SWAN. I am running for the board to better understand all of the services to which SWAN provides us, as well as being a voice for small libraries and libraries in the south suburbs. I have over 20 years of experience in libraries, with 6 as Director, and my schedule has finally allowed me the opportunity to seek out positions of interest within the library community. I am also on the ILA Conference Planning Committee for 2025.
Ridgeway Burns, Itasca Community Library
I respectfully submit my candidacy for the SWAN Board. SWAN's services enable library users to access a much wider range of materials. I hope that my service on the SWAN board will assist SWAN in capitalizing on that strength. After holding personal library cards from SWAN and non-SWAN libraries, I can personally vouch for the advantages of being able to visit neighboring libraries and use my card without any additional barriers.
While on the board, I hope to gain an inside understanding of SWAN procedures and budget practices so I can articulate them for other SWAN members. SWAN's work is important and member libraries should have a complete understanding of how that work is completed. SWAN board members have helped me better understand how SWAN operates in the past and I hope I can return the favor for other members.
Through working directly with the public at SWAN libraries, I'm familiar with how public-facing staff workflows interact with SWAN's current software. I worked with Workflows and Millennium daily on reference desks at Forest Park and Hinsdale. As Assistant Director and YS Department Manager at Hinsdale, I prepared staff training and developed departmental best practices for SWAN software. With SWAN staff, my Hinsdale staff and I trialed BlueCloud Circ in early development. I also worked at Glen Ellyn, a former DuPage Library System library, before they joined SWAN. For committee work, I served as the Vice President of the steering committee for the eMedialibrary Overdrive consortium at both Glen Ellyn and Hinsdale. I hope to draw on these varied experiences in my service on the SWAN board.
Thank you for your consideration,
Aaron Skog
Executive Director
aaron(a)swanlibraries.net<mailto:aaron@swanlibraries.net> * 630-326-7022
My pronouns: he/him/his
SWAN Library Services
915 Harger Road, Suite 260, Oak Brook, Illinois 60523
swanlibraries.net<https://swanlibraries.net/> * catalog.swanlibraries.net<https://catalog.swanlibraries.net/>
