By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

For decades, the Orion Township Public Library has been a bright spot in the Orion community. Its past directors have contributed to progress and updates that have had long-lasting impacts on the community as a whole.

After several months of searching for a replacement director to fill the position left vacant after the resignation of the previous director Karen Knox, the Orion Township Library Board of Trustees selected Michigan native, Chase McMunn.

McMunn has a Master of Library and Information Science from UCLA. He previously worked at Assistant Director for the County of San Luis Obispo Library in California. Before that he served as a Community Library Manager of Topanga and Malibu Libraries for the County of Los Angeles Library from 2011 to 2014. He also served as a Teen Services Librarian and Adult Services Librarian at the East Los Angeles Library and La Crescenta Library.

McMunn grew up in the Jackson area of Michigan and moved to California with his wife after getting his BA in History from the University of Michigan. Fifteen years and two children later, McMunn and his wife decided that they wanted to be closer to family.

“When I saw this opportunity, I was quick to jump on it,” McMunn said.

While he and his wife were looking for a family-friendly community, McMunn was also looking for a place that had community support.

“I saw it (the position) and it was clear that it was a library that was supported by its community. I think that’s always important; a great thing to see,” said McMunn. “I can tell the staff had things running really well. The programming they offered really impressed me.”

This is McMunn’s first time serving as a library Director and though this is a new experience, he is hopeful that it will be a learning opportunity.

“I thought it was a really good opportunity to sort of learn the ins and outs of being a director in this type of position,” McMunn said.

He also expects that a good amount of his previous experience will aid him in the transition in regard to leadership and general library management.

“I’ve stayed up to date on library trends and we certainly had to deal with the pandemic in our own way there (the County of San Luis Obispo Library in California),” McMunn said. “The specifics are all a little different, but I hope that the skills and training that I had through my experience there will carry over and help me learn this position.”

Some of his more immediate goals include continuing to build on the library’s current programming and technology but also includes COVID recovery.

“A big part of it going to be getting out in the community, getting to know everybody and inviting them back to the library,” McMunn said. “Try to get the community using it as much as they were before and even try to get the word out better.”

McMunn joins the short but impressive list of Orion Library Directors like Linda Sickles and Karen Knox.

“It’s clear that Karen and Linda knew what they were doing. They have things lined up really well. It’s always hard coming in knowing you have big shoes to fill,” McMunn said. “All I can do is the best that I can and luckily, I inherit a lot of the good work that they’ve done. I hope that we can continue to advance what they were doing and move on to new challenges.”

McMunn is looking forward to getting out into the community; meeting with residents and partnering with organizations.

“I hope that 2022 is a bit of a turnaround year, not just for the library but for society in general and that we can start to build what we had before,” said McMunn.

The Orion Township Public Library is open during its normal business hours. For more information regarding resources, events and programming visit www.orionlibrary.org.