Salinas, CA -- The City of Salinas has chosen a new leader for its libraries, parks, recreation centers, and other community services. She is Cary Siegfried, currently the Director of Libraries for Arlington, Texas, a city of about 385,000 people that's part of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area.
Ms. Siegfried has led the Arlington Public Library System since 2004, capping a career there that began in 1992. Before then, she held library positions at the University of Texas at Dallas, Southern Methodist University and Louisiana State University.
Among other accomplishments in Arlington, Ms. Siegfried:
- Created the Arlington Reads literacy program, which offers GED, ESL and Adult Basic Education instruction, and works with multiple education partners to provide a network of services for adult learners
- Formed a partnership for early literacy with local school districts and childcare providers
- Helped plan and manage growth of the library system to include a new Central Library under development, six branches and a $7 million budget
- Launched a service excellence and outreach program that, within six years, increased annual circulation from 1.57 million to 2.24 million, and library cards from 115,000 to 197,000
- Initiated the "GOcard" campaign to issue library cards to all Arlington children, ages 4-12
- Served on the executive board of Our Community, Our Kids, a collaboration among the City and local school districts in response to gang violence
- Received the American Library Association's John Cotton Dana Public Relations award for designing a successful volunteer recruitment program
- Was named City of Arlington 2008 Manager of the Year for her strengths in innovation and collaboration with other departments and organizations
- Having made customer service a priority, led the Library through 10 straight years of earning either first or second place among City departments in annual citizen satisfaction surveys.
"Cary Siegfried's record speaks for itself, and I'm delighted she has agreed to join us," said Ray Corpuz, Salinas City Manager. "We were especially impressed by her success in building literacy, as well as her ability to accomplish big things while working with people from across her community."
"I'm thrilled to be coming to a City that is so culturally rich, and that has shown such strong commitment to its libraries and community services," said Ms. Siegfried. "I look forward to helping Salinas thrive through the power of literacy and positive activities that bring people together."
Ms. Siegfried has a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the University of Iowa, a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University, and a Master's of Public Administration from the University of Texas. She is studying for a Master's in Arts in Creative Writing from the University of North Texas.
