On Monday, Dec. 1, the Austin Public Library hosted the public at its Central Library location for a meet-and-greet with the four finalists for the APL director position, Cedric Clark, Kathy Donellan, Hannah Terrell, and John Trischitti.
Terrell, the assistant library director, has been operating as the interim director since 2024 after former director Roosevelt Weeks departed after serving since 2017. Clark currently serves as the Manhattan borough director for the New York Public Library, Donellan is the assistant library director for the San Antonio Public Library and has served as its interim director for a year, and Trischitti previously worked as the director for Midland County Public Libraries. Along with their official titles, each candidate has a slew of professional experience and accolades within the public library sector.
Each candidate was given about 20 minutes to answer questions brought forward from the audience, focusing mainly on teen involvement in the public library and the recently established city budget.
When discussing how to increase teenage activity within public libraries, and taking into account the city’s recently proposed Generation ATX initiative that aims to uplift Austin youth, all four candidates agreed that it is a tough task to tackle. Looking back on his work within the five library systems that he has been employed in, Clark said that requiring structure among teens is usually ineffective.
“We have to make it a more open space or make a space that allows them to do things independently,” Clark said.
Trischitti said that curating a safe experience within APL’s system is the first step to pique interest among Austin teens. “I think that, for that demographic specifically, you know, engagement is so key, whether it’s social media, gaming, however they interface, we need to be meeting them where they are,” he said.
The meeting comes on the heels of Prop Q’s failed vote and the newly established budget that is set to cut nearly $400,000 of the public library’s funding in the 2025-26 fiscal year. One casualty of the tightened budget is Recycled Reads, APL’s used bookstore that has operated since 2009.
Taking into account that the location has been operating at a deficit of hundreds of thousands of dollars for several years, the city’s new budget is set to eliminate the brick-and-mortar and instead place the used books and materials within libraries around the metro to be sold to the public. The closure is projected to save $107,000.
On the topic of budget cuts, each of the candidates made it a point that the last thing they want is to have to close facilities or cut staff. Donellan has overseen San Antonio Public Library’s $55 million budget and has 30 years of experience in local government, and Terrell has helped guide APL’s $75 million budget during her time as interim director.
“One of the things that I often have to do is look at our strategic plan, look at our priorities as a community, and figure out how we’re going to do more with less,” Donellan said.
“We have to proceed with the budget with caution, making sure that we are methodical and deliberate about where our priorities are, but also prepared for the unexpected,” Terrell said.
On Tuesday, Dec. 2, public feedback was reviewed and City Manager T.C. Broadnax interviewed each candidate. The city has not announced when the new APL director is expected to be hired.
This article appears in December 5 • 2025.
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