Head of Arkansas State Library named
Jennifer Chilcoat will be the next director of the Arkansas State Library, the state Department of Education announced Monday.
Chilcoat, 55, the current deputy director, will replace Carolyn Ashcraft, who is retiring July 1.
Chilcoat spent 28 years at the Central Arkansas Library System. She became deputy director of the Arkansas State Library since August 2018, overseeing the Library Development Department, the Information Services Department, and the Library for the Blind and Print Disabled.
She also has been the state library’s state data coordinator for Arkansas and led statewide efforts to maximize the power of libraries in achieving a complete count for the 2020 Census.
She has bachelor’s degrees in English and German, as well as a Master of Science in Library and Information Science, from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
The Arkansas State Library
serves as the information resource center for state agencies, legislators and legislative staffs; administers state and federal funds appropriated for libraries and library development; and provides administration and leadership needed to improve public libraries and library services.
The state library maintains a research collection containing more than 2.6 million items, including reference materials, federal and state documents, state regulations, a patent and trademark collection and other items such as maps, periodicals and microfiche to support state government. It is also the designated State and Local Government Publications Clearinghouse, Regional Depository Library for U.S. Government Publications, Patent and Trademark Depository Library, and the Arkansas Center for the Book, which is a subsidiary of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress.
Chilcoat’s new salary was unavailable Monday. As deputy director, she earns $74,751.87 annually, according to the Transparency.Arkansas.gov website. Ashcraft earned $116,442.14 annually, according to the website.