June 03, 2008
BCR Adds Public Library Market Coordinator to Staff
Justine Shaffner has joined the staff at BCR as public library market coordinator. She is filling a new position in BCR's Marketing & Outreach department, reflecting not only an organization-wide move by BCR to develop programs and add focus to specific library types, but cementing BCR's renewed commitment to helping public libraries perform at their very best.
As public library market coordinator, Shaffner hopes to help libraries create innovative solutions for their most challenging problems. Of her new position, Shaffner says, "BCR has solutions for many issues public libraries encounter: my goal is to talk to public librarians about their biggest concerns, and together we can craft solutions that really work. I am excited to help BCR staff begin to hone their broad base of library knowledge and expertise into a clearer understanding and awareness of the needs of specific library types." As public library market coordinator, Shaffner will be convening public library working groups to help inform BCR's future products and services offerings.
In addition to her duties as public library market coordinator, Shaffner also will be acting as project coordinator for PLINKIT. PLINKIT is a multi-state cooperative that aims to help public libraries implement the open-source software, Plone, to develop customized websites for their individual libraries.
Before joining BCR, Shaffner spent more than 10 years at the Douglas County libraries in Colorado, first as reference librarian and then head of Adult Services for the Philip S. Miller Library. Previous to that, she held the library director position for the Sandown Public Library in Sandown, New Hampshire. In addition, she was chair of the statewide AskColorado Steering Committee for six years which won the AskCO Project of the Year award in 2004. She has a wealth of public library experience, and BCR is excited to have such a strong advocate for public libraries on the team.
