Presents.

President
of

The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library

Ballinger|Leafblad is proud to present the following information on behalf of our client, The Friends of the
Saint Paul Public Library in its retained search for President of the organization.

www.thefriends.org

www.ballingerleafblad.com

PRESENTING OUR CLIENTThe Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Started in 1945, The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is a nonprofit, community
membership organization dedicated to supporting the Saint Paul Public Library. The Friends
mobilizes supporters, leaders, writers and readers to ensure libraries everywhere are vital
centers of engaged, educated and diverse communities. Unlike many library support
organizations, The Friends is creative and entrepreneurial in its approaches to challenging
issues, and respected byand influential withkey decision makers.
Libraries serve a vital role in our community. Even as the economy continues to improve, library
patrons continue to turn to the library for free access to essential information on a wide range
of topics, skills training, and computing services.
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library has an active Board of Trustees, vital civic and
corporate partners, more than 3,000 members, and is proud to be honored as one of the
nations premier Friends organizations. 1,752 individual contributors, along with 135 businesses
and foundations, supported The Friends in 2015 helping the organization meet-and exceedannual financial and programming goals with the Friends providing almost $2M in support to
the Saint Paul Public Library in 2015.
The Friends also concluded a four year capital campaign begun in December of 2011 that raised
a total of $14.4 million for the Sun Ray, Highland Park, and George Latimer Central Library
projects. The City of Saint Paul contributed $7 million in public funds, and The Friends raised
$7.4M in private funds. This private support helped save the City of Saint Paul over $1 million in
bonding expenses and project costs.
The Friends is also supported by revenue earned by Library Strategies, an innovative consulting
group founded in 2006 by The Friends that serves library clients across the country and world
with a goal of contributing to the strength of libraries in an ever-changing world.
MISSION
The mission of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is Stronger Libraries for Stronger
Communities. In Saint Paul and across Minnesota, we mobilize and energize donors, community
leaders and others passionate about libraries, writers and reading. Their support enables us to
invest in important Saint Paul Public Library initiatives that would otherwise go unfunded.
VISION and VALUES
Vision: As an influential voice for libraries, we will ensure the Saint Paul Public Library and
libraries in Minnesota, nationally and internationally are vital centers of engaged, educated and
diverse communities.

Values: The Friends is guided in its work by:

Creative, innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to challenging issues;

Inclusivity and integrity in all its activities;
Responsible stewardship of its resources in perpetuity.

PRESENTING THE POSITION OF PRESIDENT

After twenty-five years of service and growing the organization more than tenfold, Peter
Pearson announced his retirement as president of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library,
effective December 31, 2016. This is a search for Peters successor.
Under Pearsons leadership, the organization grew from a staff of two, with an annual budget
of $200,000 and a seven-member Board of Trustees, to the organization it is todaya staff of
19, an annual budget of over $3 million, and a dynamic Board of 50 active and well-connected
business, education and civic leaders.
During his tenure, The Friends conducted three successful capital campaigns, took on
leadership of the Minnesota Book Awards, created the countrys premier book and author
event, and developed a nationally-recognized library consulting company, Library Strategies.
THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ROLE:
Position Purpose:
In conjunction with the Board of Directors, the President establishes and communicates the
overall mission, goals and objectives of the organization. The President plans, administers and
oversees the strategic plan as developed with the Board and develops and executes operating
plans and related strategies.
The President establishes and monitors the necessary accountabilities for the staff team with
the objective of fulfilling the mission and vision of the organization and establishes current and
long-range objectives, plans and policies. Staff members describe the organization as
responsive, entrepreneurial, fast-paced and nimble.
Job Responsibilities:
Advocacy/Budget Planning-Works with the Advocacy Committee to ensure that the City
provides necessary funding for the Librarys operational budget.
External Relations-Represents the organization in its relationships with government agencies,
civic organizations, community-based organizations and the general public to create awareness
and support of The Friends and the Library.

Fundraising Leadership-Oversees and participates in all fundraising activities with development

staff to ensure that annual operating revenues are available for the organization and that future
operational and program needs of the Library are provided for.
Management of Endowment Funds-Monitors the performance of all Friends endowment funds.
Participates with the Finance and Investment Committee to determine appropriate asset
managers for the funds so that they provide for the future needs of the organization and the
Library.
Thought Leadership -Maintains membership in various professional associations to keep
current on trends and issues in libraries and library support organizations and ensures that the
organization maintains a national presence and leadership role among library support
organizations.
Staff Leadership and Development- Provides leadership to the staff at the organization.
Recruits and retains talent. Provides direction, support and coaching to direct reports. Sets
and communicates the organizational vision with staff members. Rewards and recognizes
performance. Provides developmental growth opportunities.
Strategic Planning- Implements the goals and strategies of the newly created strategic plan
with particular emphasis on expanding annual and capital fundraising in support of the library.
Reports to the Board regularly on implementation of these and other strategic plan goals and
strategy areas.
Trustee Management- Ensures that the officers, committees and governing groups of the
organization are kept fully informed of all important matters relating to the organization.
Attends all appropriate Board and committee meetings and ensures that staff leadership is also
engaged and supportive of Board activities.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate will possess a bachelors degree in management or a related field and a
minimum of 10 years senior level management experience in an organization of a comparable
budget, staff and program size and complexity. In addition, the ideal candidate will have a
passion for the role of libraries as a key to economic development and workforce development
and experience with leadership succession and change management.
Ideal candidates will possess the following:

Demonstrated experience and success in fundraising and/or expanding revenues or

earned income.

Strong interpersonal, advocacy and organizing skills with people in a variety of roles and
in all settings relevant to the organizations mission.

Board development and governance experience.

Knowledge of and ability to provide operational and financial leadership oversight

Demonstrated commitment to literacy and community development issues

A high level of cultural competency, commitment to diversity, equity and inclusiveness

and experience building community-based partnerships.

A passion and commitment to the ongoing health of public libraries in society.

High emotional intelligence, self-awareness and authenticity.

Impeccable ethics and the highest integrity.

Entrepreneurial and resilient problem solving abilities.

Flexible, adaptive and inclusive leadership style.

Proven ability to develop and lead and inspire a team in a collaborative setting.

Strong communication skills, both oral and written.

Strong public speaking and networking abilities.

Excellent supervisory/coaching abilities that encourage and support others.

COMPENSATION PACKAGE:
The compensation package is commensurate with experience and competitive with similar
organizations. It includes participation in the organizations comprehensive benefits plan.

BALLINGER|LEAFBLAD WELCOMES YOU TO CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lars Leafblad, MBA

Co-Founder/Principal
612-598-7547
lars@ballingerleafblad.com

Marcia Ballinger, PhD

Co-Founder/Principal
651-341-4840
marcia@ballingerleafblad.com

www.ballingerleafblad.com
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer