Santa Clara, CA – June 12, 2006 – City Manager Jennifer Sparacino recently announced the appointment of Karen Saunders to the position of City Librarian effective June 6, 2006.

“Ms. Saunders brings 31 years of experience as a library professional working for the City of Santa Clara,” Sparacino said in announcing Saunders’s appointment. “She has an impressive amount of experience and patrons can trust that she will continue managing this great community resource in a tradition of excellence.”

Karen’s abilities, experience and commitment to the Library are well known, and she is an asset to the Library, as well as to the City of Santa Clara. As Acting City Librarian, she has been responsible for the full range of library operations and services for the past year. 

Karen received her BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Masters in Library Science from San Jose State University.   She took a position as Librarian I with the City of Santa Clara, and has held positions of increasing responsibility on the City Library staff since that time, including Library Division Manager, Assistant City Librarian, and her present position of acting City Librarian.  She has held the responsibility of managing the Technical Services Department, and has managed the Materials Access Services Division, which includes Technical Services, Circulation and Automation. 

She implemented the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) program here in Santa Clara, and has addressed several professional organizations as well as other public agency libraries on the implementation of RFID. 

Saunders also worked with architects, contractors and City staff to help design and build the Temporary Library, contributed greatly to the plans for the new Central Park Library, and coordinated various aspects of the move to the new Central Park Library. 

She is a member of the California Library Association, the American Library Association, the Public Library Association, and the Innovative Interfaces Users Group.