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Proclamation recognizing and thanking Mary Frances Cooper for her dedication to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and we recognize her upon her retirement as President and Director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
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WHEREAS, Mary Frances Cooper joined Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP) as Deputy Director in 2008 and was appointed President & Director in 2012; and
WHEREAS, over CLP’s 125-year history, Ms. Cooper is only the 11th person to serve in the position; and
WHEREAS, during her 13-year tenure with CLP, Ms. Cooper led several efforts to secure new sources of sustainable funding for the Library and worked to strengthen relationships with key community partners; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, Ms. Cooper collaborated with community advocates to help propel the special Library voter initiative, Our Library, Our Future, to success, resulting in a new dedicated source of operating funding for CLP; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Cooper led various service innovations at CLP, including the creation of the Office of Programs & Partnerships and the Office of Digital Strategy & Technology Integration; and
WHEREAS, under her direction, CLP completed the renovation, replacement or relocation of 10 CLP library branches, including the construction of the first certified Passive House library in North America (CLP-Carrick); and
WHEREAS, Ms. Cooper, along with leadership at the Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA), initiated a county-wide process in 2014 to consider the structure and funding of 21st century library services in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which has led to additional collaborative efforts among all county libraries, including the annual Love Your Library fundraising campaign, which has raised over $5.4 million for all libraries in Allegheny County since 2016; and
WHEREAS, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced CLP to temporarily close its libraries in March 2020, Ms. Cooper guided efforts to ensure the...
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