RACINE – Angela Zimmermann has been named the new executive director of the Racine Public Library. Currently the director of the Mukwonago Community Library, she will begin her new duties on Dec. 14.
Zimmermann was selected through a competitive application and interview process held by the Racine Public Library Board after the retirement of former Executive Director Jessica MacPhail in early July.
“It is a remarkable time for the Racine Public Library to be considering significant changes to how it operates and fulfills its mission. Angela Zimmermann brings a unique and nontraditional set of experiences and educational background as a professional librarian. Her innovative leadership and collaborative initiatives in the field of digital technology closely aligned with the Board of Trustees’ vision to be a world-class organization and library,” Tracy Austin, Racine Public Library board chair, said in a news release.
Zimmerman, who is in the process of relocating to Racine from Palmyra, grew up in South Milwaukee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in German and International Relations from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. She earned a master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“One of my initials goals will be to immediately connect with stakeholders and build key relationships to, in turn, implement new ideas and projects which will meet the needs of the community,” she said in a news release. “I look very much forward to embedding myself within the community to really understand what the citizens would like to see from their library.”
Zimmermann has been director at the Mukwonago library for four years. Prior to that, she was director of the Powers Memorial Library in Palmyra. Before her work in public libraries, Zimmermann worked with a German-owned manufacturing company working as a liaison for the company between the headquarters near Stuttgart, and the subsidiary, now located in Germantown, Wis.
