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Cliff Lange, Carlsbad City Library Director, to Retire
Carlsbad City Library's Library Director Cliff Lange has announced that he will retire in September of 2005. Lange has held the position of Carlsbad City Library Director since 1982, leading the Library through a period of unprecedented growth and enhanced institutional strength. Recognized by his colleagues, peers and the community as a visionary in the library field, Lange has worked in libraries for 45 years.
Carlsbad Mayor Claude A. "Bud" Lewis, complimented Lange on his competent and steady leadership during a time of extraordinary growth in Carlsbad's library system. "For more than twenty years, we have all benefited from Cliff's deep commitment to the Library and the City of Carlsbad. He is a gifted Library Director who will be greatly missed though I am pleased to say that his record of achievements will benefit the community for many years to come."
"Carlsbad is the finest City in California and the highlight of my career has been serving as Carlsbad's Library Director. It has been a great honor to work with extraordinary Library and City staffs and a very supportive City Council that has given me the freedom and leadership to develop a library system of which we can all be very proud," comments Lange.
Lange joined the City of Carlsbad's library system with a myriad experience. He served as New Mexico's State Librarian, as a professor of Library Science at both the University of Southern California and the University of Iowa, and as a director and assistant director at several libraries across the country.
When Lange began his tenure at Carlsbad City Library, his resume stated, "My goal in managing libraries has been to ensure that the library meets the needs of the community it serves." This goal has proved to be the guiding force of his work with the City of Carlsbad.
Here are some of the major milestones that were accomplished under his
direction:
In 1984, he oversaw the opening of the La Costa Branch Library, expanding library services to south Carlsbad.
Also in 1984, Lange was instrumental in creating one of the original library literacy programs in the state, ultimately leading to the Adult Learning Program, which helped thousands of adults and high schools students throughout the community learn to read.
In 1990, he helped launch the Centro de Información, which provides library and information services in English and Spanish, to serve Carlsbad's diverse community.
Most recently, he oversaw the opening of the Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane, featuring the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium, the William D. Cannon Art Gallery, extensive public programming and widely available computer, printer and Internet access for the public.
Lange received his Masters of Library Science and PhD from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He has also held various leadership positions with the California Library Association. In addition to his library work, Cliff serves as the "Voice of Carlsbad," recording the City's on hold messages.
Posted on August 5, 2005 1:46 PM | Permalink