Library Chief Checks Out Retirement

When Bill Griffith took the job on Aug. 1, 1957, to head the city’s library system, he figured he would stay for two years. It turned into 40.

“I felt comfortable here, so I stayed,� said Griffith, now 73.

During the last four decades, Griffith has guided the growth of the city’s library system from just one library in the historic Carnegie building (now Anaheim Museum) to a Central Library with four branch libraries and more than 110,000 patrons with library cards.

After dedicating most of his life to the library and public service, Griffith retired Thursday. He was presented with a proclamation this week by the City Council for his years of service and received a round of applause.

Mayor Tom Daly called Griffith’s tenure a milestone. “He’s touched the lives of millions of people,� he said.

Griffith came to Anaheim from his home state of Oregon because of the career opportunities. He recalled that the library at the time was in bad shape for a city on the move.

“Anaheim was a very small town, and the library had not kept pace with the growing population,� he said.

His first accomplishment was starting a bookmobile in 1958 and opening the Haskett Branch Library in 1962 to meet the needs of development in the city’s west end.

Central Library came the next year, followed by three more branches: Sunkist, Euclid and Canyon Hills.

His goal, he said, was “to give the community a quality program of library services.�

Two years ago, Griffith stepped down as library director and went to work in the city manager’s office, in charge of such special projects as rewriting the city’s mission statement.

The change helped him make the transition into retirement. Now, said Griffith, who has a number of cats to keep him company, “It’s long past time to do something different. There’s a life out there. Now I have to find it.�