Interim Library Director Named, Plans for Bookstore Approved

The seat of Library Director has temporarily been filled: Associate Library Director of Technology Jill Donegan was announced as Interim Library Director Tuesday in Commissioners Court, taking the place of retiring director Larry Justiss after 38 years of service.

Donegan, who has worked with Justiss for the past four years, originally came to San Angelo from Austin for her current job, but hopes the interim title will extend to a permanent position. “I have applied [for the position],” she said Thursday at Justiss’ retirement reception. “I’m very excited. I think that I have been exposed to just about every aspect of what happens in this building…I’m very excited about being more heavily involved with the operations, but I’m also a little intimidated, because he (Justiss) does so much and he’s done so much for so long. I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to some challenges, and we’ll just see what happens next,” she said.

If chosen to continue on in the position, Donegan says she intends to not only build upon the work Justiss has done for the past four decades, but will also continue to integrate the newest technologies into library services and adopt practices from other successful libraries. Paramount for Donegan is, however, demonstrating to the public that the library is an invaluable resource and maintaining communication flow through an open-door policy with her staff.

“I just feel like I’ve learned a tremendous amount from him (Justiss) in terms of what libraries need to be doing these days to maintain the support of the community,” Donegan said. “I think that he’s done a really good job as far as staying on top of technology, but also he has not forgotten that ultimately, patrons are at the heart of everything we do. It’s unusual for libraries in this day and age to kind of maintain that relevancy.”

Donegan described the leadership of the Tom Green County Library as progressive and intuitive, and went on to say, “This library represents everything I went to library school for, which is kind of a dying thing.” A graduate of UT, Donegan says nowadays, classes are heavy on electronic resources and computers. “I knew what they were doing, they had to do that to kind of keep libraries relevant. But it was kind of disheartening for me because I thought, ‘well I guess the community library that I went to school for is kind of a dying breed,’” she said.

Impressed by the support of the community, Donegan says she’s found that community library she was seeking initially and is ready to take over the helm. Donegan describes San Angelo as ‘very forward thinking’ and is looking forward to being a part of a thoughtfully growing community.

Currently, library staff are considering applications for the permanent director job. Several have been interviewed thus far, however a final decision has yet to be made. 

Also in Commissioners Court Tuesday, the court unanimously approved a request by library staff to dedicate and rename the bookstore for the former director, known as the Larry Justiss Bookstore. A plaque will be hung in the store, in honor of the dedication.