HOT, NEW AND TIMELY

October 31, 2008

Fiscal Officer Deborah Kackley retires

Deborah Kackley, Fiscal Officer of the Grandview Heights Public Library since January 1986, retires on November 30, 2008. 

During her nearly 23-year tenure at the Grandview Library, Kackley brought new technologies and services to the Library, while providing wise financial guidance and managing building operations and improvements that have created the Library's exceptional appearance and reputation.

Through Kackley's leadership in finance and operations, the Grandview Library has become one of the best public libraries in the state of Ohio and in the nation. It has ranked in the top ten of libraries in its class and falls regularly in the 99th percentile of the Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings, currently ranking 9th in the nation its population category.

"It's been quite a ride, to see our little library grow into a great institution," Kackley said.  

As Fiscal Officer, Kackley has:

• Automated the Library's finance department.
• Developed annual budgets and financial policies.
• Worked on numerous successful Library levies.
• Conducted three building revisions, including an addition/renovation in July 1987 that doubled the size of the Library.
• Established the Grandview Library Endowment Fund, securing money for future needs.
• Grown Library funds by investing with STAR Ohio, a state-sponsored money market account.
• Designed grants for new technologies, including the Library's exclusive local image archive Photohio.org and Mid-Ohio Library Digital Initiative (MOLDI), a collection of OverDrive’s digital books, audiobooks, music, and video.
• Provided notary public services to Library patrons.

She is also a member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).  

Kackley's philosophy of operating the Library as a business has helped keep it one of the best libraries in America. And her dedication and care to operating the Library as a facility is another reason the Grandview Library has become a destination place in the community. Until five years ago, she and former Director Carol Pelz even planted all the Library's flower beds every spring.

"Appearance is just as important as service," she said. "I take great pride in how it looks inside and out."

Kackley has enjoyed living and working in the community. She and husband Bob Kackley (a "Grandview boy") raised their two children, Matt and Jeremy, in Grandview Heights, before moving across town.  

"It has always felt like a family here, and that's why I've stayed so many years," she said. "It's been a great place to work." 

We extend our appreciation for her dedication and service to the Library, and we wish her well in future endeavors.

Kackley is succeeded by Terri McKeown, who assumes the office on November 10.

The public is invited to a retirement reception on November 17, 2008, from 4-6 pm, in the Library's Meeting Room. Join us in honoring our friend and her many wonderful years at the Grandview Library.