For Immediate Release

June 30, 2016

Media Contact:

George Williams

Richard Reyes-Gavilan named to Urban Library Council Executive Board

(Washington, D.C.) - On June 25, Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of  the DC Public Library, was elected to serve on the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) Executive Board.

Comprised of North America's leading public library systems and the organizations that serve them, the Urban Libraries Council provides services, programs and resources designed to keep its members on the cutting edge of 21st century library practice. Reyes-Gavilan is one of three new members to the ULC Executive Board. Also named to the board are Mary J. Wardell, vice provost for Diversity Engagement and Community Outreach at the University of San Francisco, and president of the San Francisco Library Commission; and Michael Meyer, operating partner of McCarthy Capital, and past president of the Omaha Public Library Foundation and the Omaha Public Library Board of Trustees.

“The Urban Libraries Council is pleased to welcome Richard Reyes-Gavilan to its Executive Board of Directors. The District of Columbia is fortunate to have a nationally recognized library executive of his caliber and I feel equally fortunate as he brings his experience and passion for libraries and city residents to the Board,” said ULC President/CEO Susan Benton. “Rich is a leader.”

Reyes-Gavilan became the DC Public Library’s executive director in 2014. Since his arrival, he has spearheaded initiatives promoting libraries as engines of innovation and human capital development. These efforts include opening a library in the DC Jail and registering more than 10,000 children for the District’s STAR:Books from Birth initiative which aims to promote early literacy by sending a book to every District resident five and younger each month.  

Reyes-Gavilan has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Texas at Austin and an undergraduate degree in literature from the State University of New York at Albany. He is also a graduate of Coro Leadership New York, an intensive nine-month program focused on public policy and leadership. 

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