George D. Mihaltses has been appointed Vice President for Government and Community Affairs at The New York Public Library. For the past seven years, Mr. Mihaltses served as Chief of Staff to New York City Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr., of Queens. In his new position, he will oversee the Library’s relationship with the city, state and federal governments.

"George Mihaltses is stepping into a key role at The New York Public Library at a time when Library use is on the rise in this period of economic uncertainty," said Catherine Carver Dunn, Senior Vice President of External Relations. "With his impressive background in government and his love of libraries, Mr. Mihaltses is perfectly poised to deliver our message that The New York Public Library has never been more critically important to New Yorkers."

A native of Queens, Mr. Mihaltses holds a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law. He also holds a BA in History from Fordham University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. As Chief of Staff to Council Member Vallone, he oversaw all aspects of the office’s daily operation, including legislation, budget, communication and constituent services. He handled land use and zoning matters, and served as the office’s liaison with city, state and federal agencies.

Mr. Mihaltses is a past member of Community Planning Board 11 in Northeast Queens where he served on the Zoning Committee and as Chairman of the Parks Committee. He and his wife, Haeda Bizekis Mihaltses, reside in Bayside, Queens.

“As the son of immigrants, my local library played a vital role in my early education and served as a bridge of knowledge, connecting my family’s Greek roots to America and the world,” said Mr. Mihaltses. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the New York Public Library. I look forward to working with the entire Library family to help this remarkable institution continue to achieve its vital mission and to meet the needs of the great City it serves.”

About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. It comprises four research centers – the Humanities and Social Science Library; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and the Science, Industry and Business Library – and 87 Branch Libraries in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items, including materials for the visually impaired. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, beginning genealogy classes] and English as a second language. The Library serves some 16 million patrons who come through its doors annually and another 25 million users internationally, who access collections and services through the NYPL website, http://www.nypl.org/.

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Contact: Heidi Singer| 212-592-7311 | Heidi_Singer@nypl.org
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