Metta LansdaleMetta Lansdale began service as Director of the Traverse Area District Library (TADL) on November 1, 2009, a position that had been held by Michael McGuire who retired after 34 years of service.

Lansdale most recently served as Director of the Royal Oak Public Library. Under her guidance that library experienced a 60% increase in visitors in 2008, followed by a 23% increase in the next nine months establishing the library as a community center and anchor in the vibrant downtown of this southeast Michigan city.

She had previously served for nine years as Director of the Chelsea District Library. Through her leadership there she transformed a small village library into a state-of-the-art district library for the 21st century. She initiated a $1.2 million capital campaign and an $8.2 million bond election for the renovated and expanded McKune Memorial Library in Chelsea, where she championed and developed public library volunteer services and programming fully developing the library as a community center. This development was recognized in 2008 by the American Library Association with the designation as the Best Small Library in America.

Lansdale also brings more than 20 years of management experience in a large hospital library setting; she also launched and for ten years maintained the Health Information section of MeL (The Michigan Electronic Library).

Lansdale is active in professional and community organizations including the Michigan Library Association and the Michigan Center for the Book.  She is a member of the Traverse City Rotary Club; previously, she served as secretary and webmaster for the Royal Oak Rotary Club and back-up webmaster for the District Rotary site;  she was a member and incoming board member for Royal Oak Kiwanis and served on the Board of Directors of the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce. For the Michigan Library Association she was on the Legislative Action Committee and the 2010 Conference Planning committee.  She currently serves on the board of MCLS, the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services.

Here is the interview with Metta Lansdale on August 8, 2009. 

TADL Library Director Candidate Interviews - Metta Lansdale from Traverse Area District Library on Vimeo.