Mary Hastler Introduced as New Director for Harford County Public Library

From the Harford County Public Library:

Effective December 1, 2010, Mary Hastler became the new Director of Harford County Public Library. Ms. Hastler brings a wealth of public library and management experience to her new role. She was the Associate Director at Harford County Public Library since 2007 and prior to that she was the Associate Director for Support Services at Baltimore County Public Library, which included her work as the Project Director for Storyville, an award-winning interactive early literacy center.

From November 1996 through August 2006, Ms. Hastler held positions in the materials management and public services departments of Harford County Public Library, including four years as Public Services Administrator. Before her library career, Ms. Hastler served in managerial positions with the Johns Hopkins Health System and the Baltimore County Department of Health. Currently she serves on many local, state, and national boards including:

Harford County Public Library Board of Trustees
Harford County Public Library Foundation Board
Harford Leadership Academy Board of Directors
Harford County Local Management Board
Maryland Association of Public Library Administrators
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Executive Board and Board of Directors
Maryland Library Association Legislative Panel

“I am honored to be leading such a great organization, stated Ms. Hastler. “I started my library career at the Harford County Public Library and have watched it grow into a dynamic, innovative, and customer focused system.” Harford County Public Library operates eleven branches located throughout Harford County, Maryland. The library serves over 200,000 registered borrowers of all ages and has an annual circulation of almost 4,700,000.

“I am delighted to welcome Mary Hastler to her new position and look forward to working closely with her to build on the tradition of library excellence that she has helped to establish in Harford County,” stated Lucie Snodgrass, Library Board of Trustees President. “I’ve worked with Mary for years and know firsthand of her professionalism, dedication, vision and stellar communications skills. We are very fortunate to have Mary as our new Library Director.”

Ms. Hastler received a Master of Library Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, College of Library and Information Services, and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, from Towson State University, Towson, MD. She also received a Masters in Administration from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI. She is a graduate of the Harford Leadership Academy, class of 2003. Ms. Hastler is currently the Fiscal Officer for the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Ms. Hastler lives in Bel Air with her husband, Mark. Her daughter, Heather, a graduate of C.Milton Wright High School, resides in Abingdon with her husband, Nathan, and daughter, Ella. Her youngest daughter, Samantha, graduate of John Carroll School and Washington College in Chesterton, lives in Boston, MA, and is the Senior Assistant Director for Admissions at Lasell College in Newton, MA.

Harford County Public Library is committed to connecting people with information and promoting the love of reading within the community.