Lafayette Library Foundation Seeks New Director

Lafayette's library foundation is looking for a new executive director.

Kathy Merchant, exec director since November 2010, is retiring, according to a news release from the Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation. Merchant was a founding trustee of the foundation.

Despite the recession after the "Imagine a Place" capital campaign that set up the opening of the library in 2009, "Kathy helped the Board of Trustees successfully reach its $4 million goal for LLLCF's 'Open Doors, Open Minds' campaign to establish a sustainability fund in 2011," the press release stated. "LLLCF provides over 50 percent of the Library's total operating costs."

The trustees have begun a formal search process, hoping to have a new executive director by the summer.

Caitlin Meaney Burrows, president of the foundation's Board of Trustees, thanks Merchant for her service and commitment. "More than 25 percent of Lafayette's residents supported the creation of the new Lafayette Library and Learning Center during our capital campaign," she said.

Alexander McCall Smith — April 14

The foundation's big upcoming event is a conversation with world-renowned mystery writer Alexander McCall Smith scheduled for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at Lafayette's Veterans Hall.

More excerpts from the foundation news release:


Roger Falcone, longtime LLLCF Trustee and donor said, “Kathy's exuberance for our library envelops everyone in town - from volunteers to donors to patrons. She breathed life into every program and gathering that celebrates Lafayette's unique creation of a learning center, and generations will continue to benefit from the leadership she demonstrated.”

Vickie Sciacca, Senior Community Library Manager said, “Kathy Merchant's dedication to the Lafayette Library has been a tremendous gift to the community. Her passion for libraries, her commitment to excellence, and her understanding of literature, art, and education have been instrumental in shaping the direction of the Lafayette Library for years to come. We are absolutely grateful to Kathy for helping the Lafayette Community realize, and not just imagine, such a place.”

… In Kathy Merchant’s own words, "It's been an extraordinary privilege and pleasure to work with a talented, dedicated staff and three evolutions of the Board of Trustees and to feel the pulse of this unique vision for a library become a LibraryAL!VE. It was no small challenge to step in to the role of board president following Anne Grodin and Don Tatzin's creative leadership that drove the first campaign, along with Friends of the LLLC. The ongoing fundraising task can be daunting, but community support across neighborhoods has been steady and generous...and continues to be absolutely vital to sustaining this vibrant community hub. To paraphrase Tony Bennett, I'll leave a piece of my heart at the LLLC."