Seattle Public Library Chief Headed for Federal Stacks

Seattle Public Library head Susan Hildreth looks to be the next Washingtonian to move to that other Washington. On Wednesday, September 29, President Obama released a list of eight nominees to federal posts, five women and three men. [Ed.: The feds are also tapping Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs administrator Michael Killoren for director of the Local Arts Agencies and Challenge America Fast Track, at the National Endowment for the Arts.]

Among them is Hildreth, who was named Seattle’s librarian-in-chief back in November 2008, after a nationwide search. Hildreth took over from Deborah L. Jacobs, who left the Seattle Public Library in July 2008 to join the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hildreth’s federal nomination is for Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which is responsible for directing funds to U.S. museums and libraries.

Hildreth came to Seattle from California, where she had been the Governator’s choice for state librarian. As city librarian, Hildreth led the SPL system through 18 months of funding shortfalls and drastically increased community demands on the Libraries. During Hildreth’s tenure, library usage has gone up by about 20 percent, due primarily to the same economic crisis which caused the city’s budget woes.

Previous local Obama appointees include former Governor Gary Locke, as Secretary of Commerce; Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske for the Office of National Drug Policy; and King County Exec Ron Sims, as deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development. D.C. insiders have joked that the number of Washington state appointees has less to do with politics than with finance (i.e., the lack of a state income tax, with the accompanying audits and paperwork, that often spikes nominees and bogs down the confirmation process).