After serving as executive director of the Fayetteville Public Library for 12 years, Louise Schaper announced in mid-May that she’d be retiring in late October.

Shortly after the announcement, a committee was formed and last month, the three-person group consisting of Dan Ferritor, Marla Hunt and Mike Malone officially began the search for a new leader.

The job opening was posted on both the ALA job seeker site and the Arkansas State Library site and according to the listings, the new executive director could be paid as much as a $100,000 salary.

With a nice paycheck in store and a library as awesome as ours, it should come as no surprise that applicants from all over the country have already expressed interest in the position.

Today at 3pm in the library’s Ann Henry Board Room, the search committee will formally review those applications and take a closer look at the following applicants:

• Dr. Frank Bruno – Director of Libraries: Dorchester County Library, St. George, SC
• William Eckman – Former Vice President: Decisionone
• Linda Mielke – Chief, Division of Collection and Technology Management: Montgomery
  County Public Libraries, Rockville, MD
• Kristin Newberry – Sylvan Learning Center: Fayetteville, AR
• Paula Settoon – Associate Director, Branch & Youth Services: Tulsa City-County Library,
  Tulsa, OK
• Alan Kaye – Director: Roddenbery Memorial Library, Cairo, GA
• Mary Elizabeth Harper – Director: Romeo District Library, Washington, MI
• Shawna Thorup – Director, Operations: Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville, AR
• Adam Brooks – Library Director: Bell/Whittington Library, Portland, TX
• Emily Eddy – Library Media Specialist: Bulls Gap School, Bulls Gap, TN
• Harry Roger Williams III – Director: Brocton Public Library, Brocton, MA
• Michael Todd Van Campen – Chief of Central Services: Houston Public Library, Houston, TX
• Clyde Scoles – Executive Director and CEO and Clerk Treasurer: Toledo-Lucas County
  Public Library, Toledo, OH
• Luanne James – Language Instructor: Berlitz Language Center, Charlotte, NC

For more information on the search for a new executive director including details on all 14 current applicants, visit the library’s website at faylib.org.