Veteran library director Natalie Starosta has been selected as the new director of the Lake Bluff Library, marking another chapter in her career.
The library board unanimously approved Starosta’s hiring at its Feb. 18 meeting. She is scheduled to begin her new job on March 10.
“I am thrilled. I can’t wait to start,” Starosta said immediately after the vote.
Starosta has worked in libraries for over 10 years and has been the North Riverside Library Director since 2018. Before that, she was the director of two libraries in her native Michigan and then moved over to the River Valley District Library in Port Byron, Illinois, according to her LinkedIn page.
“I really enjoy finding out what communities need and figuring out how to make that happen,” Starosta said in an interview. “Things are constantly changing so that is nice.”
In North Riverside, she mentioned supervising more than $1 million in renovations at the building including a near replacement of the building’s HVAC system along with technology upgrades. Other accomplishments included the formation of advanced maker spaces, a pop-up library at a local mall, and new programming for small children and teenagers.
Looking for a new challenge, Starosta applied for the director’s position in Lake Bluff.
“I was looking for new challenges,” she said. “I’ve been at North Riverside for seven years and I have done a lot of different things for the community and I would really like to do similar things in Lake Bluff.”
After retaining a search firm to initiate the process, the board interviewed five candidates in person, according to a library spokeswoman. The board then narrowed to two finalists leading to the selection of Starosta.
Her annual salary in Lake Bluff will be $107,000, according to the spokeswoman. Starosta will oversee 21 employees with an operating budget set to be $1,526,500 as of May 1.
Starosta is taking over a library that has experienced staffing issues and reduced hours of operation in recent times. She said she would be talking with local stakeholders about the varying concerns.
“It is definitely going to be a process learning what their needs are and making sure we address them in a sustainable way,” she said.
Starosta’s experience intrigued the board.
“Natalie has encountered some of the challenges we’re facing at Lake Bluff,” Trustee Alexandra Friedeman said in a statement. “We liked the fact that she’s had success resolving them and leading her library to a better place.”
During her visits, Starosta noticed some accessibility issues and some layout problems at the nearly 12,400-square-foot library, and that will be another task for her.
“That is a long-term process of working with the board, staff, and the community to find out what is needed and how we can accomplish that,” she said.
Starosta spoke in general about why she enjoys working at libraries.
“We are different things to different people,” she said. “We are a place where you are freely available for you to come and learn. It is a place where you can connect with people. We are working on fighting the digital divide and social isolationism. All sorts of different possibilities.”
Starosta replaces Renee Grassi who resigned last year to move on to a role in Wilmette. Over the last few months, David Seleb serving as Interim Director.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.