I have been working at the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County since November of 2002, first as Assistant Director, and then as Library Director since September of 2018. Prior to that I was the Extension Services Manager for the Beaver County Library System in Pennsylvania, where against all odds, I proved that you could burn up your place of work (a bookmobile) and keep your job!
Here in Steubenville I have had the experience of expanding our Main Library with a new addition in 2016-2018, passed a levy in 2020, purchased a new bookmobile and shepherded the system through the Covid-19 pandemic. I have my monthly interactions with the charismatic and evangelical communities dealing with LGBTQ materials and displays, and led the library through our transition to a County District Library in 2023.
Moving here from Pennsylvania, I found the SEO consortium to be jaw droppingly amazing. I could click a mouse and receive a book from the exotic city of Findlay OH? Without providing the pint of blood like in PA? Strange library voodoo here in the promised land! The SEO community is truly that, a community. Libraries big and small cooperate in
collection development, adult and children’s programming, training and technology.
I have been the director of St Marys Community Public Library since 2016. I have over 30 years of experience working in libraries, with 29 of those years spent in Ohio libraries. I have held many positions in libraries and developed a strong appreciation for consortiums when I was the Technology Coordinator for a consortium in Northeast Ohio. Being a part of the consortium gave me the opportunity to learn from a variety of stakeholders with different needs, including high school libraries, small libraries, and the bit bigger libraries. Every community is different. Every library is different. I am passionate about supporting the needs of every type of library. I am dedicated to ensuring that the library’s services are available to every community member and that the library has the services that its community needs. In my opinion, libraries are truly the heart of the community in which they are located. Eliminating obstacles that stand in the way of the best public service has always been important to me.
Suzanne Roberts has 12 years of library experience, including working in both academic and public libraries in Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. She is currently in her fourth year as Library Director at Highland County District Library. She has seen how a strong library consortium can influence the ability of libraries to stretch their funds and be valuable assets to their communities. Membership in SEO allows all libraries, but especially small libraries, to offer resources and technology that would otherwise be impossible. She is excited about an opportunity to help SEO in their efforts to improve library service to residents across the state.
I earned my MLIS from Kent State University in 2000, and began my career as an Adult Services Librarian in Garrett, Indiana. I returned to Ohio libraries in 2003, working as the Reference Librarian at Putnam County and then managing the Reference Department at Marion. In 2008, I became a Director. Currently, I’m the Director at Tiffin-Seneca Public Library and serve as a member of OLC’s Legislative Network and as a Trustee on NORWELD’s board.
Chris Siscoe started working in public libraries in 1979 and earned his MLS from Kent State University in 1989. He is currently the Director of the Hurt Battelle Memorial Library in West Jefferson. Before coming to West Jefferson, he served as the director of the Mt. Sterling Public Library for 8 years. In addition, Mr. Siscoe supervised various branches of the Dayton Metro Library for 8 ½ years. He has experience working for large library systems, but his specialty is rural libraries.