Erie, PA – Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper is pleased to announce the hiring of Blane Dessy as the new director of the Erie County Public Library. He will begin work on April 15.
Dessy comes with 17 years of experience at the Library of Congress, serving most recently as the director of national enterprises. He previously served as director of library staff at the U.S. Department of Justice and was the founding director of the National Library of Education at the U.S. Department of Education. He also held leadership roles at libraries at the state level in Alabama, Ohio and Oklahoma, and he served as county library director in Juniata County and Mifflin County here in Pennsylvania.
“We are thrilled to welcome Blane to our team at Erie County, and we are looking forward to the wealth of experience that he will bring to the Erie County Public Library,” said Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper. “The library has experienced transformative change over the past few years, and I am confident that under Blane’s leadership, we will not just continue that forward momentum but actually further advance and enhance the library’s role as an invaluable asset in Erie County.”
Dessy, a Pittsburgh native, earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his master’s degree in library science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a member of the Dean’s Advancement Council for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and previously served as an adjunct professor at Catholic University of America.
