Biography: Carol Ann Desch
Coordinator of Statewide Library Services
Carol Ann Desch joined the staff of the New York State Library's Division of Library Development in 1984 and has served as the Coordinator of Statewide Library Services and Director of the Division of Library Development since 1996.
During her tenure at the State Library, Ms. Desch has provided leadership and vision for statewide programs, policies and services designed to improve library services for 19 million New Yorkers through a comprehensive network of 73 library systems and over 7000 public, school, academic and special libraries, working in partnership with the New York State Library.
Under her leadership, the State Library has obtained over $20 million in private funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Library Foundation to expand public access computing in libraries, expanded a successful Statewide Summer Reading Program that now serves over 1.5 million young people a year, and obtained over $125 million in federal E-rate discounts for New York’s libraries. She also participated in the creation of a pilot project for a statewide online internet library (NOVELNY) that now provides over 35 million items annually to some 5,600 local libraries. Ms. Desch manages the most comprehensive program of statewide library development services in the nation, including over $100 million annually in diverse state, federal and private grant and aid programs. She engages in extensive policy work with diverse constituency groups and high-level decision makers on priority issues such as statewide technology planning, equity of access to library services, information literacy, higher service standards, diversity of the profession and legislative advocacy. She advises the State Librarian, Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner and Board of Regents concerning statewide and federal library programs, policies and services. She represents the State Librarian and the State Education Department within State government, with the Federal government, with national library organizations and with other outside groups and agencies. She also represents the Deputy Commissioner of Cultural Education on the State Education Department's Legislative Coordinating Team.
Ms. Desch has been active in the New York Library Association, serving as Treasurer and as President of NYLA's Reference and Adult Services Section. As 2008-2009 President of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association, she led efforts to reauthorize the federal Museum and Library Services Act. Ms. Desch has also served as President of ASCLA's State Library Agencies Section and as a Director-at-Large for both ASCLA and ALA's Public Library Association.
Prior to becoming Coordinator of Statewide Library Services and Director of Library Development, Ms. Desch managed multiple statewide programs and initiatives, including the NYSILL statewide interlibrary loan program, the New York Medical Information Services Program, the statewide public library data collection program and the development and implementation of new minimum standards for public libraries. Ms. Desch also developed new legislation to advance libraries, and coordinated the administration of state aid to localities. Ms. Desch was instrumental in the creation of NYLINE, New York's Libraryline, which today is an e-mail discussion list with over 1,400 subscribers.
Ms. Desch is recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Alumna Award in Information Science and Policy from the University at Albany, State University of New York.
She received a BA in Education and Social Sciences from the State University College of New York in Oneonta. She is a certified teacher, school library media specialist, and public librarian. She received her Masters in Library Science in 1977 from the University at Albany. Before joining the staff of the New York State Library, she worked at the Bethlehem Public Library in Delmar, New York, where she spearheaded a nationally recognized job and career information service.