Interim MAPL Director Jeffrey Kesper

Jeffrey Kesper is the new interim director of the Matawan Aberdeen Public Library, filling temporarily the vacancy left by the departure of Susan Pike. (Pictured above during his tenure at NJSL.)

I've dug up seven years of his background. Maybe someone can add a bit more? Jeff was a branch manager in the Ocean County Public Library system in 2003, per Interface. According to the Eastern NJ Regional Library Cooperative and CJRLC, Jeff left Ocean County's Lakewood Branch Library in October 2004 to began serving as head of the Library Development Bureau (LDB) for the NJ State Library. The next year the LDB received the ASCLA Leadership Achievement Award at the American Library Association's national meeting in Chicago. He retired from the State Library at the end of March 2007, per the NJ Library Association. His current work as Interim Director included a tour at the Old Bridge Public Library beginning in August 2008, according to OB Library Board minutes. He is now an interim at MAPL.

NJ State Library's Marketing News includes a reader comment suggesting that Jeff produced a spreadsheet useful for presentations to municipalities concerned for wise expenditure of taxpayer monies. His chart reportedly showed how economical it is for libraries to acquire access to online databases instead of a bunch of individuals buying separate accesses. How utterly pertinent to today's situation. Too bad that bringing up such matters would be a certain ticket to the shortest interim directorship ever.

These are particularly difficult times to be running a local library in NJ. I welcome Mr Kesper, offer whatever support I can give, and wish him all the best during his time here.