At their meeting this morning, the State Library Board filled four vacancies on the OPLIN Board resulting from member terms expiring on June 30, 2013.

One member whose term is expiring is eligible for another term and is willing to serve; the OPLIN bylaws and O.R.C. 3375.65 allow board members to serve for two full terms, and so the State Library Board reappointed Jamie Mason, Deputy Director of Rocky River Public Library, to a second three-year term.

The three departing members – Karl Colón (Greene County), Jeff Wale (Toledo), and Gary Branson (Marion) – have served OPLIN well for two terms and now must be replaced with new members. At the request of the OPLIN Board, the State Library Board appointed three Ohio public library leaders to their first three-year terms: Cindy Lombardo, Deputy Director of the Cleveland Public Library; Joseph Greenward, Director of the Lane Libraries; and Michael Penrod, Director of the Wood County District Public Library.

These three new OPLIN Board members were chosen from an outstanding field of candidates. The OPLIN Board always makes a great effort to include representation from many different library types, locations and sizes, and also to include people who fill a variety of roles within public libraries, in order to have the broadest possible mix of opinions and experiences to draw upon in Board discussions.

The OPLIN Board would like to thank all the candidates who offered to serve Ohio public libraries through OPLIN, and would especially like to offer their deepest gratitude to Jeff, Karl, and Gary for their long and valuable contributions to OPLIN. And they would also like to welcome Michael, Cindy, and Joe to the OPLIN Board!