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From NYC to SF: Martin J. Gomez to Lead Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library

Business Wire, Jan 7, 2002

Business & News Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2002

Gomez returns to California at a crucial moment:

Library and Friends & Foundation are about to embark on

improvements to City's 26 branch libraries

The Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library announced today that it has chosen Martin J. Gomez to lead the organization as its new Executive Director. The move marks a return to California for Gomez who has spent the bulk of his career at libraries throughout the state.

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"We are thrilled to have someone of Martin's caliber take the helm of the Friends & Foundation as we move forward with plans to restore branch libraries," said Dale Carlson, Chairman of the Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library. "We expect Martin's experience to be an enormous asset to the Friends & Foundation, the library and to the City. He's going to be a great San Franciscan."

Since 1995, Gomez has been Executive Director of the Brooklyn Public Library, which operates 58 branch libraries, a business library and central library and serves a diverse population of more than 2.5 million people. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of the corporation and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Public Library Foundation, where he assisted with advocacy and promotion of library services, government and community relations and fundraising. Prior to going to Brooklyn, Gomez was the director of the Oakland Public Library system.

"I am pleased to have been selected by the Board for this exciting new challenge," Gomez said. "I look forward to working in partnership with the Library, the Library Commission and the community to increase public and private support for the San Francisco Public Library."

The Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library is a non-profit organization that supports the San Francisco Public Library system through advocacy and fundraising.

"The Friends & Foundation is an invaluable partner to the Library, helping it to provide many programs for City residents that would otherwise be unavailable," said City Librarian Susan Hildreth. "I have known Martin for many years and look forward to a very successful partnership, which I know will bring about tremendous benefits for library users."

Gomez has more than twenty years of experience working for libraries, primarily in California. He holds a Master of Library Science from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is a member of the American Library Association Endowment Trustees. In 1991, Gomez served as President of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library Services for the Spanish Speaking. Recent honors include the 2000 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Francis College, Brooklyn, the 1999 New York City Council Man of Hope Award and the 1998 Honorary Doctor of Laws from St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn.

The Friends & Foundation has 3,800 members and donors, as well as 500 volunteers. In 2000-2001, the Friends & Foundation gave the San Francisco Public Library nearly $2 million to support various programs and services, including the much-loved Children's Summer Reading Club.

In addition to its annual gifts, the Friends & Foundation has a long history of advocacy and fundraising on behalf of the Library, which includes raising more than $32 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment for the Main Library, $380,000 for the Mission Branch Library renovation, and more than $490,000 for the new Ocean View Branch Library. In 2000, the Friends & Foundation spearheaded the successful "Yes on A" campaign, a $106 million bond to renovate and improve branch libraries citywide.

Business Services Industry

From NYC to SF: Martin J. Gomez to Lead Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library

Business Wire, Jan 7, 2002

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