April 14, 2009 (Charlotte, NC) – Visitors to Independence Regional Library will see a friendly, familiar face in a new role. On April 6, Melinda Zalecki took the helm as the new manager for the Independence Regional branch of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC). Chris Bates, who has served as the manager of Independence Regional Library, has moved to Main Library to be senior library manager.

New library manager Zalecki, who has served as Information Services Manager at Independence Regional Library since joining PLCMC in 1998, looks forward to maintaining the high quality of service at the branch. “I have been at Independence for 10 years and know the challenges that face this branch,” Zalecki said. “We want patrons to have a positive experience when they visit Independence and will continue to provide programs and services that best meet the needs of our ever-changing community. Independence has a wonderful staff, and I look forward to being able to continue to work with them.”

David Singleton, PLCMC’s Director of Library Experiences, provides overall management for the library’s 24 public service locations. “We are working both to ensure exceptional service and allow employees the ability to continue exceptional leadership,” Singleton said. “These staff members are highly qualified individuals who have performed very well in their present locations. They will bring their strengths and leadership abilities to new locations and have the opportunity to have significant impact working with a variety of staff and customers.”

Zalecki has an extensive background in libraries. She received her Master of Science in Library Science degree from Florida State University in 1972. Before joining PLCMC, she worked at public libraries in Florence, S.C.; Martinsville, Va.; and Pulaski, Va., where she was the director of the Pulaski County Library for 15 years.

The movements of Zalecki and Bates are part of an organizational restructuring effort called “Imagine 2010,” designed to realign the library with the needs of the community. The library has been working on this since 2006, but more recently, budget concerns and a hiring freeze have caused the library to look internally to fill roles created in the new structure.