Barbara Dimick was officially appointed the Director of the Madison Public Library in 1996, following nearly 18 years of service at Madison Public Library in other capacities, including Manager – Youth Services, Planning Coordinator and Acting Director. She has a Masters Degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Library and Information Studies in Madison.
Reporting to the nine-member Board of Library Trustees, she oversees an operation with a $12.6 million budget, 250 full and part-time employees and nine facilities – a Central Library and eight branches. During her tenure, Madison opened its first new branch library in 25 years – the Alicia Ashman Branch in 2001. The Lakeview and Hawthorne Branches have been substantially expanded and improved, and the Pinney, Monroe Street and Meadowridge Branches are currently undergoing much-needed upgrades. A brand new 20,000 square foot Sequoya Branch Library is currently under construction in a new mixed-use development on Madison’s west side, and plans are underway to build a new 10,000 square foot South Madison Branch Library in the redeveloped Villager Mall scheduled to open in early 2009.
In 2006, Madison’s libraries checked out 4.6 million books and media, welcomed 2.2 million visits, and enabled in-library access to the Internet 477,000 times. It was rated the fifth best library in the country in its population category in the 2006 Hennen’s American Public Library Rankings, and consistently boasts impressive per capita usage numbers, as befits a public library in a city famous for its commitment to education and life long learning.
