Ann Reeves (Photo courtesy of Eureka Public Library)

The Eureka Public Library will have a new director as of July 1.

Assistant director Cindy O’Neill was named by the Eureka Public Library Board of Trustees to succeed Ann Reeves, who announced her retirement effective the end of this month.

Reeves began her library career more than two decades ago, working part-time in interlibrary loans in 1998 and followed that by becoming the circulation supervisor at Eureka College’s Melick Library.

While at the college, she began to work on her masters of library and information science degree at Dominican University.

Reeves returned to Eureka Public Library in May 2007 working on program coordination, interlibrary loans, marketing, and cataloging. She was named the assistant director after earning her MLIS degree in December 2008 and six years later was hired as the library director.

The library has seen many positive changes during Reeves’ tenure, according to the library, including the addition of a handicapped-accessible elevator in 2017.  She took on the task for raising funds to help pay for that capital improvement by organizing and completing in six months an Elevate Reading campaign which raised over $80,000 to partly finance the elevator, according to the library.

“For more than eight years I have had the distinct privilege of serving as the director of the Eureka Public Library. It has been a joy to work in such an outstanding community, to watch your families grow, and to support quality opportunities for lifelong learning and enjoyment,”
Reeves said in a written release. “The Board of Directors, library staff, Friends of the Library, and volunteers all play such a huge role in the success of the library, and their dedication to the library is irreplaceable.”

O’Neill began her library career in 2012 as the Eureka Library’s program and marketing coordinator. She became assistant director in December 2019 after completion of her masters in library science degree.

Cindy O’Neill (Photo courtesy of Eureka Public Library)

“I am very honored to be selected as the next Eureka Public Library District director. I love serving our community and am excited to take on new challenges as the director,” O’Neill said.

She praised the mentoring she received from Reeves and the legacy she built.

“Hopefully I will make as positive a mark on the library and the community during my tenure as she has,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill previously worked in the history/museum field both in McLean and Jackson counties and was the University of Illinois Extension County director for Woodford County unit and then the combined Livingston-McLean-Woodford county unit.

“My previous careers have brought me back full circle to what I love most – books, history, and my hometown. Working at the Eureka Public Library, I see the intersection of those three things on a daily basis. I’m excited to have the library continue to provide the quality services our community relies on as well as seek out new opportunities to meet the community’s educational, informational, and recreational needs,” O’Neill said her a written release.

The EPLD Board of Trustees held an open house in the library’s outdoor area to honor Reeves on Monday, June 26.