We are excited to welcome James Pasley to the Library Director Role at Camden County Library District. We believe he will be a valuable addition to our environment at the library and to our community.
Mr. Pasley will be starting Jan 16th. He will be visiting all of the libraries in our district. Please reach out and get to know him. We look forward to working with him.
Vicky Simbro
President, CCLD Board of Trustees
Jim Pasley has held many different positions throughout his career in the working world. He has had a tremendous amount of management experience as well as time spent in the world of academia.
The position he held at The Missouri Department of Transportation as Corporate University Manager was responsible for the statewide administration of all technical and managerial training, customer service, quality improvement, and performance management programs for 6000 state employees. The staff and budget were very similar in size to that of The Camden County Library District.
During his time with Missouri state government, he also worked closely with the State Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security.
From the academic side, Jim has a college teaching career that spans over 27 years. Performing research and teaching students is a passion of his. Working with libraries, research facilities, historical societies and museums has been a regular part of his daily experience for a long time not only at the college level, but also for his radio, TV, podcast, and speaking engagements.
Jim loves working with the people of our community. Thomas Jefferson said it best, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” Jim’s hope has always been to do his small part to help educate the citizenry. “I feel this position as Director of Camden County Library District will be ideal for me to continue working to inform and educate the citizens of Camden County.”
In addition to the above-listed qualifications, Jim has tried to stay active in the community. He worked with the Camden County Commission on the 2nd Amendment Sanctuary County Ordinance as well as the recent Tax Break for Seniors Ordinance. So, he is familiar with how the local government operates.
Jim has stated that his management style is very open and hands on. “Every employee brings value to the group and their input is vital to the smooth operation of the organization. When it comes to meeting with employees to come up with solutions to issues, there is no rank in the room. The same holds true with dealing with the public. This is their library. We are to serve them, not the other way around.”
On a personal note, Jim, and his wife Karen of 50 years, have been at the lake since 1974. They have seen a lot of changes. They love it here and this is their home.”
