Walters appointed as executive director of NCRL

The North Central Regional Library Board voted on Friday to appoint Barbara Walters as the next executive director of the library district.

Walters has been acting director since June 2017 and has been part of the district's administrative team since 2007.

"During the selection process, Barbara impressed us with her professionalism, her knowledge of our unique NCRL communities, and her high personal standards and work ethic," the board said in a prepared statement. "She has a passion for serving our patrons and cultivating our staff. She has the desire to take our mission 'to promote reading and lifelong learning' to the next level."

They added, "We are confident she is the right person to guide our organization through this time of growth and boundless potential."

The board launched a nationwide search earlier this year to choose a replacement for former director Dan Howard, who resigned last year. The top three finalists were Walters, Candaleria Mendoza of San Antonio, Texas, and Laurel Prysiazny of Fresno, Calif.

Walters, 47, of Wenatchee, is a native of the Wenatchee Valley. She started working for North Central Regional Library in 1989 as a library assistant, and worked her way up during her nearly 30 years with the district to management and then administrative positions, including information technology manager, director of library services and deputy director. 

"I'm honored and humbled to have been chosen to lead our library district into the future," Walters said. "The staff of NCRL are amazing. They have such a passion for the work they are doing to help improve lives in our communities and are committed to making things better. I love that I get to support and aid them in carrying out this great work."

North Central Regional Library operates 30 libraries in Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Okanogan and Ferry counties, as well as two bookmobiles, and provides outreach and mail-order services throughout the region.

"Barbara has done a tremendous job leading our organization through this transitional period (as acting director) and is ready to hit the ground running," the board said.