Longtime Jefferson County Library employee Kate Coleman has been promoted to assistant director.
She began the new role Jan. 1 for the four library branches: Arnold, Cedar Hill, Northwest and Windsor.
As assistant director, Coleman, 41, of the Jefferson County portion of Fenton will continue her role as manager of Collection and Resource (CORE) Services, overseeing the library catalog and resource management, as well as other services at the four branches.
She brings more than 20 years of experience to her new role, having worked behind the scenes at the library district in cataloging, acquisitions and resource sharing.
“Kate brings a wealth of knowledge to her new role as assistant director,” said Library Director Cindy Hayes. “She has earned the respect of her colleagues at Jefferson County Library, as well as those in statewide organizations in which she has served. As assistant director, she will play a key role in supporting staff, strengthening services and helping our libraries meet the evolving needs of our community.”
Hayes said the assistant director position had been vacant since January 2024 when Pam Withrow left to take a job with another library.
Hayes said Coleman was paid $33.35 per hour before her promotion and will make $35.43 per hour in her new full-time job, working 40 hours a week. Withrow was earning $43.44 per hour before she left the library.
Coleman said the library staff and community are her top priority.
“And I will be working toward fostering a culture of shared purpose and meaningful leadership for many years to come,” she said.
Coleman has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Missouri in Columbia.
She has served on the Board of the Missouri Evergreen Consortium, a database of library holdings managing the resources of 83 Missouri libraries, and currently is the consortium president.