Kim Findlay, the former director of the United Way of the Quad Cities Area and new president and CEO of Davenport's Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre, already has several supporters.

Mark Bawden - the Putnam's interim director/CEO before Findlay and its current development director - says, "We think she will be great for the Putnam. She brings a fresh outlook and lots of new ideas."

Myron Scheibe - chairperson of the Putnam's board of trustees - states,"Not only does Kim meet and exceed all the criteria we had ... she also has a true passion for the Putnam."

And Jennifer Nolin - communications administrator for the United Way of the Quad Cities Area - describes Findlay as "one of the most phenomenal women I've ever met," adding, "I think she'll be a great bridge between the community and the museum."

Yet while comments such as these may not be unexpected, Findlay herself is, as evidenced by the analogy she makes in discussing her new role at the Putnam:

To hear their directors tell it, the future of libraries has always looked bleak.

"I remember when I was in library school," recalls Moline Public Library Director Leslie Kee, "which was in 1967. They told us that by the year 2000 there would be no books."

Most everybody agrees that spending money on education is a good thing.

But the "good" that education produces remains abstract enough to citizens and politicians that school spending often takes a back seat to more concrete projects, whether they're roads or sports stadiums or tax incentives designed to directly bring new jobs to a community.

Rob Grunewald, an associate economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, used to be one of those people who thought that education was important in a vague, general sense. "Invest in your schools. Invest in your colleges and universities, your workforce-training programs, and there you go," he told an audience at the Bettendorf Public Library last week. "You can all go home."

Myron Scheibe, board of trustees chairperson for Davenport's Putnam Museum & IMAX Theatre, last week announced the selection of Kim Findlay as the venue's new president and chief executive officer. Findlay spent 14 years working for the United Way of the Quad Cities Area, serving as president from 1995 to 2004, and currently serves on the board of directors for Quad City Arts and the executive committee for the American Heart Association's Heart Walk. Interim CEO Mark Bawden will stay on as the Putnam's development director. Scheibe also revealed that the Putnam had secured the finances to pay off its $3.65 million in remaining debt, in large part through Bawden's fundraising efforts, and announced the kickoff of the museum's forthcoming endowment campaign to offset operational costs and keep the Putnam "a debt-free institution." For information on current and upcoming Putnam events, visit (http://www.putnam.org ). - Mike Schulz