On June 8, Jen Milligan started her job as the director of the Manlius Library, and has been settling into the position since.
Milligan started her professional career as an electrician engineer, working at Lockheed Martin in system and software engineering for about 11 years. While in that career, Milligan said she did not feel fulfilled in her professional life and wanted to work in a job closer to the community, so she went back to school to pursue a master’s degree in library science.
In 2011, Milligan was hired as the director of the Sherrill-Kenwood library in Sherrill, N.Y., and said she took the opportunity to come to the Manlius Library when she saw there was an opening.
The Eagle Bulletin sat down with Milligan and asked her a few questions as she makes her transition to the Manlius Library.
Why did you decide to go into library science?
I was finding that I wasn’t fulfilled doing what I was doing, so I decided to go back to school and pursue my master’s degree in library science. I feel that libraries to me have an ability to make a tremendous impact in the community … so I decided to pursue my passion. I continued being an engineer while going to school for a couple of year and then made the transition to the director of the Sherrill-Kenwood library in 2011.
What do you think the biggest challenge in the transition to the Manlius Library is or has been?
There’s a lot to learn. Everybody is so helpful — from the staff, our patrons, the volunteers, the board of trustees — everybody’s been wonderful, but there’s a lot to learn about how everything runs here. It’s a different system in a different library so the learning will take awhile, but that’s the fun part.
How has it been so far?
It’s been fantastic, it really has. The support that I have gotten — all the enthusiasm and support and assistance. I cannot express how much that has meant to me.
What do you hope to bring to the Manlius Library?
I hope bring a positive energy and get to know our patrons, our library and our community. I want to collaborate with our community and staff to continue to make the Manlius Library a place where families and individuals can gather for education, information, entertainment, inspiration — all those good things!
What do you think of all of the programs and offerings the Manlius Library has?
This is a very busy library with a rich history of providing services to the community. … There’s very standard library programming and that’s very important. We also have some great new things like the tech time classes, Minecraft activities and some great science based programming that’s going on. Not only do we have the standard stuff — we have new stuff and a wide variety of things. … I hope to see that only expand and for the community to come to us and tell us what they’d like to see or what they need and what would help them because we are certainly open.
Are there any future goals you have to the library?
My goal right now is to better understand the library as it is today, the community and their needs, and to figure out how we can continue to grow and change the library to meet those needs … I think the first part of any director’s experience in a community is all about learning and then stepping back and understanding how the pieces fit together and try to grow the service to the community.
Why are libraries so important for a community?
This is my personal philosophy — I don’t think there is any greater representation of what a true democracy is than the library. Libraries are a place where everything is freely accessible to everyone, equally. Libraries are the great equalizer. I am also a huge reader and believer in the power of words — not just to educate and inform but also to inspire. A place where you can do that freely is amazing. It’s the greatest service we can provide our communities.
Anything to add?
I’m really, really excited to be here and I try to keep my door open as much as possible. I hope people will pop in and introduce themselves to say ‘hi’ and let me know what they think of the library and how we can serve them better.
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
