Meet new Washington County Library Director Jacquie Kramer

Why did you decide to become a librarian? Tell us a little about your career up to this point.

My library career began in college at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities where I had a work study job at Wilson Library on the West Bank campus. This was where I was introduced to library customer service work, a library collection housing more books, periodicals, and computers than I had ever seen, and the formation of a staff team working together to serve the library mission. Since then, I’ve worked at the Minnesota History Center Library, the Sweetwater County Library in Green River, Wyoming, Anoka County Library, and now Washington County Library.

At the Minnesota History Center, I was able to help genealogists, historians, authors, and middle school students working on History Day projects. I also had the opportunity to catalog some unique Minnesota ephemera. The Sweetwater County Library became known for its vibrant
teen programming, including an annual Zombie Walk, which closed the main street of the town so masses of costumed, undead teenagers could stroll down the street. I was fortunate to be able to supervise, work with, and learn from the eight branch managers at Anoka County Library
during my tenure there.

What has excited you (perhaps unexpectedly) about your new job since you arrived?

I am excited and energized to work with the Washington County Library team. The staff are passionate, driven, and focused on the needs of the community. I’ve been impressed by the great teamwork I’ve seen and the dedication to serving the community. In my first two months, I have been able to attend storytimes at different Washington County libraries, and I’ve been very impressed by both the huge attendance at these programs and the skills of the youth services staff. Park Grove Library has a food pantry developed in partnership with Basic Needs Inc. of South Washington County that provides free grocery items to community members experiencing food scarcity and instability. The food pantry has been extremely successful and is meeting an important community need.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank for helping you reach this point in your career?

I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with and learn from many skilled and generous leaders, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family members throughout my career. I’d like to thank the Sweetwater County Library team, the Anoka County Library team, my parents, sisters, husband,
and son. The support of everyone on this list, and those not on this list, has made all the difference.

What are you most excited about for the future of your library or Minnesota libraries in general?

This is a really exciting time for Washington County Library. Right now, we are developing a strategic plan to guide our work over the next few years. This plan offers the chance to focus our services, based on current feedback from community members, staff, and library stakeholders.
We conducted public surveys, focus groups, and staff workshops to give us a comprehensive view of what community members’ current needs are. This knowledge is extremely valuable and will help target our efforts to directly impact our community’s lives.