Automated Services Bureau Manager Christine Hertzel will be Long Beach’s new acting director of library services for the Long Beach Public Library starting Jan. 1, city officials announced today.
Hertzel will serve in the role temporarily as the city conducts a national recruitment for the next director of library services. She will replace current library services director Glenda Williams, who will retire from her position on Dec. 30 after working for the Library Services Department for 40 years.
Hertzel will be directing a library system that’s facing a number of problems. An audit in February revealed that the Long Beach library system does not meet the needs of the city’s racially, socioeconomically and linguistically diverse communities. Despite the diversity of Long Beach residents, 97% of programs and 95% of materials are offered only in English, according to the audit. Additionally, the overdue fine structure disproportionately impacts low-income residents and keeps them from accessing materials when they are unable to pay their fines and subsequently have their accounts suspended.
According to a city memo from Williams this past summer, nearly 50,000 people in Long Beach are currently barred from borrowing library books, audiobooks, DVDs and magazines because they owe overdue fines of $20 or more.
The Library Services Department is working to address some of the issues presented in the audit, including the potential elimination of late fee charges.
This summer, Long Beach libraries waived late fees as part of the city’s response to the pandemic. About $300,000 was allocated from federal relief funds included in the Long Beach Recovery Act to waive library fines for one year. At the time, Williams said there was enough money to continue waiving fees through 2021.
The City Council still has to decide if any outstanding late fees will be waived and if late fees will be eliminated entirely moving forward.
In her new role, Hertz will oversee the Long Beach Public Library system, which includes Billie Jean King Main Library and eleven neighborhood libraries—with an emphasis on “providing free and equal access to information and support for learning for a lifetime,” according to the city.
“Hertzel has an impressive background in library services and has already brought tremendous innovative and equitable growth to our Library system,” City Manager Tom Modica said in a statement.
Hertzel has worked a in the Library Services Department since 2018, overseeing personnel and technical operations of the library’s acquisitions, cataloging, digital services and integrated library systems, according to a city press release. She previously worked as a project manager for Avectous Integrated Software—a software company based in Santa Ana.
In her current library role as manager for automated services, Hertzel directs activities including acquisitions, technology, budget and staffing.
“Over the last year, Ms. Hertzel played an integral role in launching several innovative digital services, including: Tech To Go, the library’s Chromebook and internet hotspot lending service; Khmer indexing, allowing patrons to search for Khmer language materials using the Khmer script,” according to the city statement.
She also helped with updates to the library’s mobile app to include added user features to improve patron experience; migration of various e-book collections and magazines to new technological platforms.
The completion of the recruitment and selection process for the new director is expected to be complete in mid-2022.