The reading room of the Boston Public Library is shown here as it appeared in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org)
BOSTON – The Boston Public Library Board of Trustees over the weekend voted to offer the job of president of the library to Jill Bourne, city librarian in San Jose, California, since 2013.
Bourne was deputy city librarian in San Francisco from 2006 until 2013. The San Jose system includes 23 branch libraries and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, operated with San José State University. Prior to working in San Francisco, Bourne worked for over nine years with the Seattle Public Library.
The board had also interviewed David Leonard, interim president of the BPL, and the decision to offer the job to Bourne was made after a public meeting on Saturday at the Central Library in Copley Square. Andrea Sáenz, first deputy commissioner for the Chicago Public Library, was the third finalist and withdrew from the interview process for personal reasons, according to library officials.
Leonard will continue to serve as interim president until contractual details with Bourne are finalized.
Bourne holds a bachelor’s degree in English from New York University and a master’s in library and information science from the University of Washington. The executive search firm Spencer Stuart, contacted and reviewed about 215 individuals for the position, according to library officials.
The reading room of the Boston Public Library is shown here as it appeared in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org) 
