Oak Park Library Names Public Services Director

From the Oak Park Public Library:

National library leader Cynthia Landrum joined the Oak Park Public Library as Assistant Director for Public Services this fall, bringing extensive library leadership experience and a professional passion for learning and empowering communities.

“We are thrilled to have Cyndee join our team,” said Executive Director David Seleb. “Her professional mission to be part of a learning organization that empowers its community by creating opportunities for discovery, experimentation, and creation fits so well with our plans,” Seleb said.

Landrum comes from an assistant director role at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library in suburban Pittsburgh, PA. Previous to that, she spent 12 years at Arizona’s Glendale Public Library, first as a Business and Multicultural Librarian, then as the library’s Adult Services Supervisor/Web Services Coordinator.

She arrived in Oak Park nearly 20 years to the day she graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in Linguistics. Later earning her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Southern Mississippi, she currently is a doctoral candidate in Managerial Leadership for the Information Professions at Simmons College. She has co-authored research on topics including future content creation, copyright and fair use, and race and gender in library leadership positions.

Drawn to Oak Park by the library’s range of adaptive services and high level of innovation, Landrum said she follows a 360° leadership style. “I believe that leaders exist throughout the organization, and one of my most important roles is to support those in assigned and emerging roles,” she said. “Shared leadership is one of the most important ways to advance the mission of the library, and to achieve a shared vision.”

Landrum is a member of several professional associations, and served as the 2009-2010 president of the Arizona Library Association. She is also a member of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, the Library Leadership and Management Association, and the Public Library Association. She replaces Rebecca Teasdale, who left Oak Park and the library in August to pursue a doctoral degree.