St. Charles County library names interim CEO as search begins for new director

ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The St. Charles City-County Library Board has named an interim CEO as the district officially kicks off its search for the library’s next top official.

Library trustees voted 4- 2 to hire Tiffany Barke, who previously served as the library’s chief administrative officer, as an interim CEO during a closed-session meeting on Friday. The district has not released the names of the board members who voted against Barke’s hiring.

Barke replaces Jason Kuhl, who announced last month that he was resigning after being named as the CEO of a library system in Oklahoma. His resignation from his St. Charles post came after months of backlash over a short-lived proposal to close three library branches. Kuhl and former library board president Staci Alvarez later apologized for the proposal, saying that they “fell short on communicating the seriousness of our situation.”

Kuhl had also become the target of public anger over complaints about a library employee’s attire, some books in the system’s collection with LGBTQ themes and characters, and others about sex, gender and identity. Some of the meetings over the year drew hundreds of residents and heated tempers.

“The board will be involved to provide oversight during this interim period to ensure that the district will continue to thrive during this transition to our more permanent leadership. All of us are focused on effectively addressing and resolving some contentious issues in recent months,” said board president Matthew Seeds.

He is one of the few members to remain on the board following a shake-up that saw several longtime members either resign or have their terms end when St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann or St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer replaced them.

Barke joined the library staff in 2019 as chief talent officer, and was promoted to chief administrative officer in 2022. She has had a front-row seat to the controversies that have embroiled the library district, often sitting next to Kuhl at library board meetings.

Prior to joining the St. Charles library district, Barke worked as the vice president of organizational development at the Gateway Region YMCA. She has a master’s degree in educational psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, according to a news release from the library district.

In a statement, the library district said it has formally begun the search process for a permanent CEO. While a job description has not been posted to the district’s website, the district said they are looking for applicants that have “experience with governmental financing,” and that offer “a fresh perspective that fosters complete trust and confidence from the staff and the community alike.”