\'We\'re going to make it more like a bookstore.\'

June 9, 2002 - 12:39pm — Ryan

An interesting profile of Herb Elish, the new director of The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh:

Sounding more like a for-profit CEO than a nonprofit executive, Herb Elish, director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, said, \"You have to start with who is the customer and what does the customer want and need . . .\"

\"Until 10 years ago, libraries had a monopoly. If you wanted information, the library had it, and you had to come here to get it,\" Elish noted. Having a monopolistic, iron grip on the market caused libraries to lose focus on their users\' needs . . .

To restore their usefulness to the community, the Carnegie Library hired Elish, a seasoned veteran of transition management. Before to joining the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, he served as chief executive officer at Weirton Steel.

Full Article (from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)