Ron Shank Appointed SLJ Publisher

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 2/1/2006

Bill McGorry, executive vice president of the Reed Publishing Group, has announced the promotion of Ron Shank to publisher of School Library Journal and its sister publication, Library Journal (LJ). Shank, who has been associate publisher since 1998, is a 25-year industry veteran, having joined the staff of SLJ and LJ in 1988.

“Ron has over the years demonstrated a key client focus and commitment to the library community as a whole” and is ideally suited for the leadership role we envision, says McGorry. In addition to his current sales responsibilities, Shank will manage the magazines’ print and electronic content, as well as targeted meetings and conventions.

SLJ’s Editorial Director Francine Fialkoff and Editor-in-Chief Brian Kenney will report directly to Shank, and given their past cooperative efforts in crafting the School Library Journal Leadership Summit in March 2005 and supplements such as LJ’s “Library by Design,” they should form a great team serving the needs of the library community.

“SLJ continues on a mission to emphasize the enormous value school libraries, public libraries, and librarians deliver as the knowledge centers of the school and community,” Shank says. “Together with LJ, we will lead discussion on the challenging issues that face us, connect librarians to the marketplace, and review all formats of information content. It’s thrilling to work more closely with the SLJ editorial team and an honor to work for librarians.”