{"id":15177,"date":"2025-12-11T13:47:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T20:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/finalists-for-top-cortez-library-job-share-vision-at-forum\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:45:17","slug":"finalists-for-top-cortez-library-job-share-vision-at-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/finalists-for-top-cortez-library-job-share-vision-at-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Finalists for top Cortez library job share vision at forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wednesday\u2019s
Wednesday\u2019s meet-and-greet at City Hall included about 40 minutes of small-group conversations, followed by a 20-minute moderated Q&A and roughly 30 minutes of one-on-one time with the nominees for the Cortez Public Library\u2019s director role. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Around 30 residents gathered Wednesday evening at City Hall to meet the finalists in the running for the director job at Cortez Public Library, hearing a mix of personal stories, professional experience and visions for expanding the library\u2019s reach in the community.<\/p>\n

Originally, four finalists were named, but city officials said Stephanie O\u2019Connor, library director in Alliance, Nebraska, withdrew to prioritize family.<\/p>\n

The remaining three candidates are Cullen Dansby, LeRoy Harris and Amanda Pe\u00f1a. They spent the afternoon and evening introducing themselves, answering questions and meeting residents one-on-one.<\/p>\n

\"Candidates
Candidates for the director role at Cortez Public Library took turns sharing their background and insights Wednesday evening at a City Hall public forum. Cullen Dansby said the role felt like the natural next step. \u201cProfessionally, it feels like everything has led here,\u201d he said, adding that directing a single library allows a leader to be exactly \u201cwhat the community needs you to be.\u201d (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"During
During introductions, library director candidate Amanda Pe\u00f1a shares reasons the job is appealing: \u201cI am looking for something different, and I want to grow with the community. I feel that I can find that here.\u201d (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Candidates share backgrounds, approaches to public engagement<\/div>\n

Candidates share backgrounds, approaches to public engagement<\/p>\n

Dansby, circulation and public services manager at Keller Public Library in Texas, said he has worked \u201cmany professional job tiers in public libraries\u201d and sees librarianship as community-centered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy elevator pitch to sum it up is that it\u2019s my job to figure out ways to give people free stuff that is fun or free stuff that they want,\u201d Cullen said. \u201cThe library is not prescriptive \u2013 the goal is to listen to you in the community and the library is a reflection of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris, programming and technology services librarian in New Ulm, Minnesota, said he has long-standing family ties to the Four Corners region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is home,\u201d he said. \u201cLibraries bring access to the world to people. It\u2019s a learning place, a discovering place, a place where you can enjoy new things that you love. Thank you for having us here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a, director of Baright Public Library in Ralston, Nebraska, and a library worker since age 15, said she was moved by the turnout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually really inspiring that so many people showed up,\u201d she said. Pe\u00f1a emphasized that modern libraries must offer traditional services and creative, engaging programs. \u201cIt\u2019s not 1950 anymore. People stay because they like the programming and the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LeRoy
LeRoy Harris, far left, a candidate for Cortez Public Library director, talks with community members during a brief, small-group session at Wednesday\u2019s City Hall forum. Harris said he finds the Cortez job appealing, citing chances to grow professionally while returning to an area with family ties. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The candidates emphasized a library\u2019s role in community life, from expanding digital literacy to building strong partnerships with brands and businesses across Cortez. City Manager Drew Sanders thanked residents for attending and noted the strength of the finalist pool, saying each candidate brought impressive qualifications. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Community questions focus on priorities, experience<\/div>\n

Former mayor and retired Cortez librarian Karen Sheek asked candidates to share past programming success they are proud of.<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a described working with Homeland Security on a citizenship-preparation program, drawing participants from more than 30 counties and earning praise from Homeland Security officials, who said they had never done such a program before. With both her parents being immigrants, she said the work was \u201cvery near and dear\u201d to her.<\/p>\n

Harris said he runs more than 30 programs a month, from genealogy and poetry meetups to chess club and a \u201cmemory lab\u201d that helps patrons digitize old media. Digital literacy programs \u2013 including classes on artificial intelligence, gaming and basic computer skills \u2013 have been especially meaningful.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping people get confident to the point where their daughter drives 500 miles to say thank you because they didn\u2019t think their mom could do it,\u201d Harris said, was a particularly rewarding and heartwarming experience.<\/p>\n

Dansby pointed to launching a GED program at a previous library that didn\u2019t have one. He mentioned developing adult-focused events such as trivia nights, murder mysteries and an adult spelling bee in collaboration with several libraries. \u201cWhy would anyone want to spell as an adult for fun?\u201d he joked. \u201cBut, I swear, people really did have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Lavey, former city councilman and mayor, attended Wednesday\u2019s forum with his wife, Gail, who asked a question about how a candidate\u2019s children would be affected by potentially moving to Cortez. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
How they\u2019d spend free time \u2013 and promote the library<\/div>\n

When asked what they would do off the clock, all three mentioned the outdoors. Harris said he enjoys biking and hiking with family. Dansby, originally from Texas, said he looked forward to \u201cactually being able to get away\u201d from the hustle and bustle. Pe\u00f1a said she hopes to explore the area\u2019s outdoor options with her 7-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n

Another resident inquired about how each candidate would promote the library.<\/p>\n

Pe\u00f1a emphasized school outreach, supporting teachers with story times, engaging families, serving on local boards and showing up at city meetings: \u201cIt\u2019s about making connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dansby said outreach begins with visibility. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s a case of knowing we exist \u2013 and then knowing about all the cool things we do,\u201d he said. He highlighted attending community events and using social media effectively, not just to post announcements but to show \u201cwhat you actually do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris pointed to collaborations with local partners, articles he writes for newspapers, weekly TV appearances and the library\u2019s YouTube programming. He said one virtual author talk he did went unexpectedly viral and reached 70,000 viewers from as far away as Vietnam.<\/p>\n

The candidates met with library staff ahead of the public meet-and-greet.<\/p>\n

\"City
City officials are continuing the hiring process in the few days. Collecting comment cards from attendees was a way for city officials to hear from the public before making a final decision. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

candidates answered questions while highlighting goals and past experiences<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15177"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19520,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15177\/revisions\/19520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15177"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}