The Mesa County Libraries Board of Trustees has selected two finalists for the position of library director.
The finalists are Tim Miller, director of the Pines & Plains Libraries in Elbert County, Colo., and Sam Passey, director of library and museum services for the Uintah County Library in Vernal, Utah.
Miller and Passey were chosen from a field of 14 applicants for the position.
Miller has been director of the Pines & Plains Libraries since 2015. In that role, he coordinates the operations, logistics, and activities of four libraries and a governing board. Before becoming director, Miller worked three years as manager of the Simla Branch Library. Miller holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Colorado State University and a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga.
Passey has been director of library and museum services for the Uintah County Library since 2007. In that role, he supervises all aspects of public library and museum services, working with a library board and the county commission. In 2012, he was named librarian of the year by the Utah Library Association. Passey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in social studies education from Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg and a Master of Library Science degree from the University of North Texas in Denton.
The finalists are scheduled to visit Mesa County on Monday, Nov. 5, for interviews with the library Board of Trustees, library tours, staff meetings, and a public reception. Scheduling details for those events will be released when they are confirmed.
Library trustees launched a nationwide search for a new director in June after former director Joseph Sanchez left for a new opportunity. The initial search for a new director was not successful, so the trustees undertook a second search in September.