The Cedar Rapids library board has chosen Robert Pasicznyuk for the director position of the Cedar Rapids Public Library. Pasicznyuk is currently the associate director at Douglas County Libraries in Castle Rock, CO. His expertise and experience will be instrumental in the rebuilding and recovery of the Cedar Rapids library. According to the Gazette, “At Douglas County Libraries, Pasicznyuk spearheaded a transition to self-service checkout stations and automated returns, which helped the library keep pace during tremendous growth. Activity there has nearly doubled in the past four years, and circulation now runs around 8 million items per year.”
Castle Rock happens to be where my brother and his family now reside so I have actually been to Douglas County’s Philip S. Miller Library location in Castle Rock. Interesting it is actually in a retrofitted former grocery store. This is noteworthy since some in the community have argued for relocating the library and other city facilities into former big box stores (such as Econofoods, Big Lots) or in Westdale Mall. The Castle Rock facility was done very well and besides the low-rise profile, it is hard to tell it was once a store. However the difference between these two CR’s, is that the Castle Rock library is located right next to the town’s traditional downtown, whereas none of the locations suggested in Cedar Rapids are anywhere near walkable or centralized. Also the urban layouts of the once, small mountain town and the industrial midwestern city of Cedar Rapids, are fundamentally different. Pasicznyuk is certainly smart enough to understand this and I look forward to his direction of the library’s future recovery and expansion.