A familiar face has been named as the new chief executive officer of the Collingwood Public Library.
Ashley Kulchycki was appointed as the new CEO of the library during Friday’s special meeting of the Collingwood Public Library Board. She has worked at the library for the last nine years, as supervisor of children and teen services.
“For myself, I’ve been at this library for more than nine years now so I think I bring a lot of those relationships and partnerships I’ve built with young families (to the table). A lot of kids have grown up here. It feels like a natural progression to watch kids grow, and now I’m growing,” Kulchycki told CollingwoodToday.ca.
After finishing a Masters in library science, Kulchycki took a job at a small library in Manitoba for three years before making the trek to settle in Collingwood.
“Since it was a small library, I got to do everything while I was there, from public service, to children’s programming, collection development, outreach and inter-library loans,” she said. “It gave me a great scope of all of librarianship.”
As she is already involved in the day-to-day operations of the library, Kulchycki is hoping to hit the ground running.
“I have a good finger on that pulse. Now, to be able to govern that at a higher level, I hope I’ll be able to take our library to the next level,” she said.
Kulchycki says she sees that the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed some of the needs of the community, a challenge she is prepared to face.
“We want to be able to adapt to meet the needs of what the world is going to look like on the other side,” she said. “Libraries are so important because they can be anything people need. Public libraries are adaptable... and responsive. They’re always evolving. That’s what makes them amazing.”
With former CEO Ken Haigh leaving the library behind, Kulchyski says she knows she has big shoes to fill.
“I also know how amazing our staff is, and our community is, and I’m really looking forward to working with all of them and continuing to make our library the best is can be,” she said. “My door is always open.”
