Our new Political Director

Please join me in welcoming Patrick "PC" Sweeney as EveryLibrary's new Political Director beginning on January 9, 2016.  PC Sweeney is a founding EveryLibrary board member and has been a tireless volunteer working closely with me on building this organization and winning elections for libraries all around the country.

In his new role as Political Director, he will focus on training and advising library campaigns, fundraising to support our work, and coalition building that helps take EveryLibrary to new tables outside of this industry.

I am honored that he wants to make this transition to full-time work with EveryLibrary. Having his brains, talent, and leadership available 24/7 will be a huge boost for our ability to grow the organization. I am humbled that he wants to leave regular library work and take this leap to EveryLibrary.

I admire Patrick for work as a librarian.  He is currently the Administrative Librarian of the Sunnyvale (CA) Public Library, where he has supported a great team of librarians and staff.  Prior to that, he was manager for both the East Palo Alto and Atherton branches of the San Mateo County Library system. EveryLibrary has benefited from his skills as an organizer and a strategist, but also from how his experience working as a librarian. He helps root our mission in support of the public good.

As he describes on his personal blog announcing his move:

One of the things that makes me most excited about this transition is that I get the opportunity to do something that I think is important and give back to the profession that has been so supportive and good to me. Librarianship has truly given me a lot of opportunities and I can’t possibly repay all of the great love and support I have received from so many people and organizations. I have been able to see the country and meet a lot of amazing humans that I call friends all over the United States all while paying my bills. I have really been very lucky to find such magnificent people and a profession that does such important work. I feel as though I have real opportunity and obligation to give some of that back and work to make the future for libraries a little bit better by taking on the local funding challenges by working for EveryLibrary full time.

I appreciate all the work he has done for EveryLibrary since Day One, especially his leadership on the EveryLibrary California initiative and his strategic engagement on all our library campaigns. Patrick joins EveryLibrary as our second full-time staff member, opening our New York City offices in February. He will be taking the lead on about half of our 2016 campaigns and will have a full speaking schedule at library conferences and MLS/MLIS programs as well.  I wish him well in his move to New York, and am excited for him personally and professional. But I am relived he is keeping the boat.

- John Chrastka, Executive Director