Eastwood named director of St. Paul library system

Jane Eastwood, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's top education adviser, will become the city's library director next week, Coleman announced Monday.
"Jane's expertise in educational policy, lifelong learning and equity is a perfect fit for leading our libraries forward as institutions of 21st-century learning," said Coleman in a statement announcing the appointment.
Eastwood, 64, will take over the job next Monday. She replaces Kit Hadley, who leaves this week after six years as head of the St. Paul library system.
Hadley makes $130,000, so the move likely will mean a raise for Eastwood; her salary last year was about $97,000.
Like Hadley, Eastwood is not a librarian by training; she has a psychology degree from Macalester College and a master's in creative writing from Hamline University.
Before going to work as the mayor's education director in 2010, Eastwood was vice president of advancement for Scholarship America, a nonprofit that sought to provide scholarships for two million students nationwide.
But from 2006 to 2008 she was director of external relations for the Minneapolis and Hennepin County library systems, during the period when the systems were merging. She oversaw development of programs in K-12, early literacy and adult education; immigrant services; and capital projects. She also served as interim director of the Minneapolis Public Library.
The St. Paul Public Library is the third largest library system in Minnesota, with 13 libraries and a bookmobile. It drew about 5 million visitors last year, either in person or online, and counted more than 76,000 library card holders. It has a budget of nearly $17 million, with a full-time equivalent staff of 174.
As St. Paul's education director, Eastwood helped launch Sprockets, an after-school program, and Right Track, a youth career development program.
"The innovative and equity-focused educational programs that have come to life under Jane's leadership directly reflect the values and mission here at the St. Paul Public Library," said Peter Pearson, president of the nonprofit Friends of the St. Paul Public Library.
Eastwood was a project manager for St. Paul's Planning and Economic Development Department in the 1980s, when she helped develop cultural institutions, such as the Actors Theatre, and was instrumental in bringing the U.S. Olympic Festival to the Twin Cities.
She was marketing vice president for the Science Museum of Minnesota from 1990 to 2006, when she oversaw grants and directed communications and sales efforts.