New year, new director

When Jim Gill, former extension and technical services manager of the Tuscarawas County Public Library, heard Dan Cooley planned to retire from the Dover Public Library, he knew he wanted to pursue the position.“Dan Cooley has been the director of the Dover Public Library for 29 years,” said Gill. “When the job was posted in July, I threw my hat in the ring and made it through the interview process.”Born in Dover and growing up in Beach City, Gill recalls often visiting the Dover Public Library and gravitating to the sports and mystery book areas.“My favorite all-time book,” said Gill, “is H.G. Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights. I found the book at the library when it came out in 1989.”Gill attended Fairless High School, graduating in 1994, and went on to college at Ohio State.“I was going to become a vet,” said Gill, “but I missed playing football, so I transferred to Muskingum and graduated there in 1999, majoring in history with a minor in political science and English. I thought about being a teacher at that time. While at Muskingum, I got a job at the college library. The director there encouraged me to go to library school. I found I enjoyed it, and I graduated in 2004 with a master’s in library and information science.”In the fall of 1999, Gill began working at the Tuscarawas County Public Library in the reference department. After five years, he became the head of circulation and went on after three and a half years to become the extension and technical services manager, supervising the branch libraries, bookmobile, and overseeing the process of new books entering the library.“Extension and technical services manager,” joked Gill, “is like a jack of all trades in a way.”As director of the Dover Public Library, Gill’s responsibilities will include budgeting, staffing issues, administrative duties, advocating for the library, overseeing the quality of the collections, and the overall running of the library.Gill has several goals for himself as the new director.“I want to make sure the community knows about the Dover Public Library and the resources that are available and allow it to be a constant reminder to the public that the library is a cornerstone of quality life in the community.“I want the Dover Public Library to be one of the best small libraries in Ohio. I don’t want to be behind on new trends or technology, and I would like it to meet the specific needs of the community-what the public really wants in a library.“Some of my first priorities will include getting to know the staff, beginning a book discussion group, participating in the countywide One Book One Community project, and I would also like to nurture the relationship between the library, the Friends of the Library, and the school district.”Gill is on the board of the Tuscarawas County Center for the Arts. He is also a board member of the Tuscarawas County Literacy Coalition, a 2006 graduate of Leadership Tuscarawas, a member of the Lions Club, and a member of the American Library Association and the Ohio Library Council.He married his wife, Katy, in 1999, and they have three sons, Noah, 8; Luke, 6; and Andy, 3. He coaches his boys’ Little League team, is a Cub Scout leader, is active in his church, First Lutheran in Beach City, and enjoys sports, reading, and running.He will be going on a mission trip to Guatemala in February, where he will participate in building a church as well as holding vacation Bible school in an orphanage there.Gill, 33, presently lives in Beach City, but is planning to move to Dover this year. “I want to support Dover and the Dover Public Library in every way possible,” said Gill, “so my family believes it is important for us to live there to do that.”Gill’s enthusiasm for his new position is evident. His desire to be the director of the best small library in Ohio is already in the works.