Carolyn Blatchley is the executive director for the Cumberland County Library System, located in south-central Pennsylvania. In January 2022, she celebrated 20 years with the organization.
Carolyn has a strong background in non-profit management, having a 10-year career as an executive with Hemlock Girl Scout Council intertwined with the time she spent working on her Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. While in the MLIS program, Carolyn found her passion for technology and teaching adults. In 2002, Carolyn discovered that the Cumberland County Library System was a perfect place to apply her interests as the system’s first staff training coordinator.
Carolyn’s experiences at the library system have included implementation of various new technologies to increase staff productivity, enhance self-services for library customers, embrace cost efficiencies and ensure relevancy. Most recently she led her federated system of seven member libraries and one branch through a conversion to radio frequency identification to increase speed and accuracy of circulation and materials inventory.
Her proactive approach toward addressing shrinking budgets by evaluating traditional library services and adopting innovative, cost-effective strategies are highlighted in a chapter of the book “Letting Go of Legacy Services: Library Case Studies” published by the American Library Association in 2015.
When she’s not in front of electronic devices, Carolyn enjoys exploring the woods with her faithful dog, and traveling the world with her husband Deuane to seek out birds in their native habitats, hike long trails, and indulge in local microbrews. Carolyn is a long-time member and active volunteer with the Pennsylvania Library Association, and a founding member of the Friends of Snowden Library at Lycoming College.