By: Joe Naiman For The Alpine Sun
County Library director Jose Aponte had planned to retire on May 26, but he was willing to be re-hired on a temporary basis and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved his temporary reappointment as the County Library director.
By: Joe Naiman For The Alpine Sun
County Library director Jose Aponte had planned to retire on May 26, but he was willing to be re-hired on a temporary basis and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved his temporary reappointment as the County Library director.
Under state law if a public agency re-hires an employee within 180 days after his or her retirement due to the need to fill a critical position the public agency’s governing body must approve that appointment. Aponte’s reappointment was on the May 10 Board of Supervisors agenda and passed on a 5-0 vote.
“It’s unbelievable,” Aponte said. “I’m a little weepy.”
Aponte’s return to county service will not conflict with his plans to ride his bicycle across the country. “I’m going to take that time off and think about my future,” he said.
“I’m pleased to know that he’s going to be able to come back and serve for some period of time,” said Supervisor Greg Cox.
“Our County Library system is one of the best in the country, in large part due to Jose Aponte’s leadership,” said Supervisor Bill Horn. “Finding the right person to fill Jose’s shoes is not an easy task, and we are grateful to Jose for remaining in his position as library director while we search for his replacement.”
The California Education Code requires any county which operates library branches to appoint a county librarian and also requires the county librarian to have a graduate degree from a library school program certified by the American Library Association.
Aponte will not accrue any additional retirement credits for his additional time as the County Library director, and he will not receive any benefits other than his salary for hours worked.
Aponte had been the director of the City of Oceanside’s library system prior to joining the county. He became the County Library director in March 2005 when Marilyn Crouch retired. “Jose has done an awful lot,” said Supervisor Ron Roberts.
Aponte has been in library activity professionally for 41 years, although his mother was a librarian. “I can go back to when I was five, six, and seven,” he said.
Aponte’s son works in the UCLA science and engineering library. “It runs in the blood,” he said.
Aponte grew up on 178th Street in Manhattan. He received his bachelor’s degree from Bard College in New York before obtaining his Masters of Library Science degree from the University of Arizona. Aponte was a library director in West Palm Beach, Florida, before becoming the director of the Pike’s Peak Library District in Colorado Springs. Aponte left Colorado for the Oceanside position and has lived in Oceanside for the past 22 years. Aponte will continue to live in Oceanside after his retirement.
