Dionne Mack

Last updated
Dionne Mack
Born1973 (age 47–48)
South Carolina, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesDionne Mack-Harvin
OccupationLibrarian
Known forfirst African American woman to head a major library system in New York

Dionne Mack (born 1973), [1] briefly known as Dionne Mack-Harvin, is an American librarian. She was the executive director of the Brooklyn Public Library from 2007-2011 and the first African-American woman to head a major library system in the state of the New York. [1] She has been the deputy city manager of El Paso, Texas since July 2017. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Mack was born and spent the early part of her childhood in South Carolina. At age 11, her parents separated and she moved to Harlem, New York with her mother and siblings. Her father was a truck driver and her mother was a licensed practical nurse. She was the first person in her family to attend college and received her bachelor's degree from SUNY College at Brockport. She received her master of library science degree from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. [1]

Career

She began work as an entry-level librarian at the Crown Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library in 1996. She stayed in the system for several years and took multiple promotions. [1] She was the executive director of the library system for three years after a one-year interim contract in the position. She oversaw 60 branches, 1,700 employees, and a $103 million budget. [4]

Mack hired a downsizing firm to help lay off 13 staffers due to a budget shortfall. [5] A Washington Post article detailed the firings and used language that made those fired identifiable. [6] After the article's publication, Mack stated that she had never given the journalist access for the story, which the reporter and library communications manager refuted. [7] This was considered an "embarrassment" to the library system, and according to the New York Daily News , may be why Mack chose to abruptly resign right as her contract came up for renewal. [7]

Mack took the position of Public Library Director of El Paso Public Library in January 2011. [8] [9] She became the deputy city manager of public safety and support services of El Paso on July 17, 2017. [10]

She was named to the Crain's New York 40 under 40 business leader list in 2008. [4]

Personal life

Mack was married to Ray Harvin. They have one son, Naeem. [1]

Related Research Articles

Mayor of New York City Head of the executive branch of New York Citys government

The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the Government of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.

Librarian Profession

A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library, providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.

Brooklyn Public Library Public library system in New York City

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two other public library systems in New York City, it is an independent nonprofit organization that is funded by the city and state governments, the federal government, and private donors. The library currently promotes itself as Bklyn Public Library.

Clara Whitehill Hunt American librarian

Clara Whitehill Hunt was an American teacher, librarian, author, and advocate for children's library services.

Anna Sosenko

Anna Sosenko was an American songwriter and impresario who flourished in the 1930s. She is perhaps best known as a manager and writer for cabaret singer Hildegarde, for whom she wrote "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup".

El Paso Public Library

The El Paso Public Library is the municipal public library system of El Paso, Texas. The library serves the needs the public in El Paso, Texas, Chaparral, New Mexico and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. It consists of 12 branches and one Bookmobile service. Multiple outreach services are also available including a Homebound service.

Angela Yee American radio personality (born 1976)

Angela Yee is an American radio personality. She hosts the nationally syndicated morning show The Breakfast Club along with DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God. She is on the Board of Governors of the We Are Family Foundation and a board member of the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies. She is also the first-ever ambassador for the New York Public Library system. Since 2019, she has served as the BSE Global Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement Ambassador.

Mary Wright Plummer

Mary Wright Plummer was a prominent American librarian who became the second female president of the American Library Association (1915–1916).

Carlos Menchaca American politician

Carlos Menchaca is an American politician serving as a member of the New York City Council for the 38th district. He is a Democrat. The district includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and portions of Borough Park, Dyker Heights, and Windsor Terrace. In October 2020, Menchaca declared his candidacy in the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, but suspended his campaign in March 2021, three months before the primary.

Carmen Fariña

Carmen Fariña is a former New York City Schools Chancellor and head of the New York City Department of Education. Announced by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on December 30, 2013, she was the first New York City chancellor to have had schools supervision training and experience since Board of Education chancellor Rudy Crew.

Business & Career Library Branch of Brooklyn Public Library

The Business & Career Library was a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), located at 280 Cadman Plaza West in Brooklyn Heights, next to Downtown Brooklyn in New York City. Its history precedes that of the BPL itself. In 1852, prominent citizens established the Brooklyn Athenaeum and Reading Room for the instruction of young men. In 1857, a group of young men established the Brooklyn Mercantile Library Association of the City of Brooklyn, which shared a building with the Athenaeum. The Mercantile Library attempted to be more practical, placing less emphasis on Literature and philosophy. The librarian in charge was Stephen Buttrick Noyes. In 1866, he went to work at the Library of Congress.

Althea Warren Director of the Los Angeles Public Library, president of the American Library Association

Althea Hester Warren was the director of the Los Angeles (California) Public Library from 1933 to 1947 and president of the American Library Association in 1943-1944. She was inducted into the California Library Association's Library Hall of Fame in 2013.

Betty Mary Goetting Librarian, womens rights activist in El Paso, Texas

Betty Mary Goetting was an American librarian, civic leader and women's rights activist. She is known for bringing Planned Parenthood to El Paso, Texas.

Sari Feldman American librarian

Sari Feldman is an American librarian. Sari was president of the American Library Association (ALA) from 2015 to 2016. During her presidency, she launched the Libraries Transform public awareness campaign that increased funding support for libraries and sought to advance information policy.

Helen Virginia Stelle

Helen Virginia Stelle was the first director of the Tampa Free Library and one of the founders of the Florida Library Association.

Katia Beauchamp is an American entrepreneur, billionaire and co-founder of Birchbox.

Maud Durlin Sullivan American librarian

Maud Durlin Sullivan was an American librarian. She is most well known for her work as the librarian of the El Paso Public Library.

Jo Ivey Boufford is an American physician and Dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, as well as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the NYU Medical School.

Lucille Cole Thomas American librarian

Lucille Cole Thomas was an American librarian. Thomas had a long career supporting library services for children with the New York City Board of Education. She was the first African American president of the New York Library Association. She also served as president of the International Association of School Librarianship and the American Association of School Librarians.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Finn, Robin (2007-05-11). "A Cheerleader for Brooklyn’s Treasury of Books". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  2. ↑ "Dionne Mack, deputy city manager". El Paso Inc. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  3. ↑ Jr., Dailey, Maceo Crenshaw (2014-09-29). African Americans in El Paso. Smith-McGlynn, Kathryn,, Gutierrez Venable, Cecilia. Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN   9781439647448. OCLC   905238686.
  4. 1 2 "40 Under 40 - Dionne Mack-Harvin". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  5. ↑ Saslow, Eli. "Downsizing Firm Specializes in the Art of Letting Employees Go". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  6. ↑ Saxena, Jaya. "Brooklyn Public Library Head Resigns Following Downsizing Scandal". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  7. 1 2 HAYS, JAKE PEARSON, ELIZABETH. "Fired library staff 'vindicated' by Brooklyn Public Library Chief Dionne Mack-Harvin's downfall - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  8. ↑ "Deputy City Manager Public Safety & Support Services". www.elpasotexas.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  9. ↑ "Libraries undergo renovations with bond funds". El Paso Times. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  10. ↑ Staff Report (2017-07-14). "City Manager Appoints Deputy City Manager". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved 2019-01-29.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.