The Newton County Library Board of Directors hopesto hire a new library director soon as it seeks a replacement for Greg Heid, who accepted the library director position in Des Moines, Iowa.

The application period for the positiion has already closed as of Dec. 31, incoming library board chair Lois Upham said in a Jan. 11 e-mail.

"We are now in the process of performing an initial evaluation of the applications, and I will soon be calling a meeting of the search committee so we can look them over and determine how we will proceed with the screening process," she said.

The board is looking for a candidate with a master's degree in library and information services and at least 10 years of experience, including two years of experience in a management position. The new director will make between $47,000 and $70,000, according to a job posting on the website of the Georgia Public Library Service. The Newton County Library Service has three branches and a $1.74 million operating budget for FY 2011, according to newtonlibrary.org.

In the interim, Bob Halcums, assistant library director, is serving as acting director.

Regarding the future direction of the library, former board chair Marc Jordan had this to say in a Jan. 4 e-mail:

"Our community is blessed to have a board that is knowledgeable and will take the necessary actions to provide materials and services to help community residents meet their informational, educational, recreational, and cultural needs."

According to the website of the Des Moines Register newspaper, Heid's first day as library director in Des Moines was Wednesday. Heid will make $115,000 per year to oversee six libraries in Des Moines, a $6.6 million operating budget and 91 full-time-equivalent employees, according to the paper.

Upham said Heid will split time between Des Moines and Newton County during the month of January.