Salem library services to be topic of talk

SALEM — Brad Stephens, the Salem Public Library director, will discuss the history of library services in Salem and the future of the Salem Public Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Salem Historical Society, 208 S. Broadway Ave.

Library services have played an important role in the cultural, educational and recreational development of Salem since the formation of the Salem Library Company in the early 1800s.

Today the Salem Public Library houses about 100,000 items and has an annual circulation of 350,000.

Stephens is completing his first year as director at the Salem library. Previously, he spent seven years managing library technology services for the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System in Warren.

He’s a graduate of the Salem High School, has a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Indiana, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Youngstown State University.

He, his wife, Cara, and son, Timothy, live in the Salem area.