Jennie Garner has never held a job in any other library than the North Liberty Library.
For 27 years, Garner has seen the library move and expand in size and staff. What once started as a 1,200-square-foot building with just three staff members has grown to an 18,000-square-foot library with a staff of 21.
In October, Garner was recognized for her 10 years of leadership as the North Liberty Library’s director with the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Award from the Iowa Library Association — a recognition that was long overdue, her staff says.
Garner described her journey to the helm of the North Liberty Library as “accidental librarianship.” After graduating, Garner was introduced to a job at the North Liberty Library first through volunteering there and then eventually getting a part-time job there.
This experience unlocked her passion for libraries, and she decided that was the career she wanted to pursue. Once making it through undergrad, Garner got her master’s in library and information science at the UI, and the rest is history.
Garner said winning the award was humbling. She has been involved in leadership programs and positions for her entire career, ranging from being former president of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries to speaking at library conferences around the world.
Sam Helmick, past president of the Iowa Library Association and president-elect of the American Library Association, said Garner has had a broad impact both on libraires generally and within more rural communities.
“As past president of the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, I saw her bringing resources back home and ideas back home to support small and rural,” Helmick said. “And I really want to honor that because that work is hard.”
These experiences have shaped how she leads, Garner said.
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“It’s important to me that we have a really positive culture here,” Garner said. “When we build trust within and have a space where people feel comfortable and safe, then that automatically rolls outward, so our community trusts us to deliver the services that we do here and to be spot on with those things.”
This culture of trust within the North Liberty Library has been an empowering and rewarding experience for library staff and the entire community, Jennifer Jordebrek, the library’s assistant director, said.
“We want to empower our staff, from the part-timers on up. Everyone has a seat at the table. Everyone’s voice is listened to,” Jordebrek said. “I still, to this day, appreciate every day being able to come work here at the library.”
Jordebrek said the leadership award for Garner has been a long time coming, but Garner does not ever work expecting praise. Garner has been instrumental in breaking down barriers to accessing the library’s services, such as getting rid of fines such as late fees, Jordebrek said.
In terms of what’s in store for the future of the North Liberty Library, Garner said she has been collaborating with libraries across Johnson and Linn counties to hold a staff training day in February for over 200 library staff in the area. This training will be the first of its kind for the area, she said.
No matter what situations arise, the North Liberty Library will continue to work to serve its community and meet its needs, Garner said.
“Libraries are really resilient. We change a lot, and we change pretty fast, and especially small and rural tend to be able to do that a little more nimbly because of our size and not having to jump through a lot of red tape,” Garner said. “So, I just see us continuing to serve the community in whatever ways they need.”