Library welcomes new assistant director

After more than a decade at another Jefferson County library, Michelle Hamrick has joined the Homewood Public Library as an assistant director.

Hamrick taught in schools for two years before going to “library school” at the University of Alabama and beginning her career in public service.

“I love working with people,” Hamrick said. “We are always serving the public.”

For 11 years, Hamrick worked at the library in Irondale, helping create a calendar, monthly newsletters and assisting guests who walked in. Time spent in Irondale allowed Hamrick to familiarize herself with libraries in the county, including Homewood’s, which benefited from “rockstar” librarians who came before her, she said.

“I hope to continue that,” Hamrick said.

Her time in graduate school at UA taught her the ins and outs of the ethics of librarianship, cataloging, developing a library’s connections and more, Hamrick said. Libraries, she said, have always been about more than just books.

“Libraries have always been about information,” she said.

Information that used to be collected in books is now available on library computers or in workshops and programs, Hamrick said. The role of the library in the community has expanded, but the focus remains the same: connecting patrons with information, she said.

Hamrick said she’s still learning her job, but she will primarily serve as a liaison between the library and community organizations. That means organizing events, working with the library board, ensuring that library staff have what they need, conducting staff training and more.

The Homewood library has many online resources and is “constantly changing,” Hamrick said. There is a need to know and communicate with its patrons and the city as a whole, she said.

The “best-kept secret” of the Homewood library is that it is not simply a warehouse for books, Hamrick said.

“We are a very dynamic place where community comes together and shares information,” she said.

Community involvement is high at the library and the institution enjoys the support not only of its regular patrons, but also the Friends of the Library, which raises funds that provide needed equipment and books for the library and sponsors programs such as the summer reading program. For those wanting to join that effort, the group is hosting a book sale in early May and is in need of volunteers and books for the event.

“I’m really excited to be a part of that,” Hamrick said.

The circulation, number of visits and programming that the library enjoys have recently raised it to new heights. In 2022, Homewood Public Library was named the only four-star library in the state of Alabama. It shows the library is meeting a series of milestones in its service of its patrons, Hamrick said.

“We are constantly busy,” she said.

Hamrick joined the library at a time of transition as well, as Judith Wright replaced the now-retired Deborah Fout, who served the library for 37 years, as director.

Hamrick said she wants to see the library continue to expand and grow, and that starts with its staff.

“I would like to see all of the staff … feel that they have all of the training they need and have knowledge of all of our resources,” Hamrick said.

For more information on the library, visit homewoodlibrary.org.