Euclid Public Library Director Kacie Armstrong named 2022 Librarian of the Year by Ohio Library Council

John Butler, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·2 min read

Aug. 7—Euclid Public Library Director Kacie V. Armstrong has been named the 2022 Librarian of the Year by the Ohio Library Council. The award honors librarians who have impacted their library as well as the community surrounding it.

Armstrong said she is overjoyed to receive this honor.

"As a school district library, Euclid Public Library takes our mission of being connected to our schools as well as serving our students very seriously," Armstrong said. "Times are hard, Inflation is on the rise and the pandemic hurt all of us. We want to do our part to provide services that protect and help our community."

During the pandemic, Armstrong's efforts led to a considerable increase in the reporting of hard-to-count sections of Euclid for the 2020 Census. The library made print campaigns, programming and offered computer access.

In addition, Armstrong and her library worked with Euclid City Schools, College Now Greater Cleveland and area private schools to address learning loss due to the pandemic.

Armstrong helped establish Euclid Public Library as an ACT and SAT Boot Camp site. She worked with Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail as well as the Police Athletic League and other organizations to provide after-school activities for students in the area.

"We started looking at ACT and SAT scores and asking what we can do to make sure these students are college ready," Armstrong said. "We partnered with Now Greater Cleveland and established programs and classes to help prepare ACT and SAT classes that would provide students with a better chance for their success."

The library also partnered with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to provide lunches for children in their study programs.

Armstrong said the library is always trying to reach out to the community as well as other local libraries.

"We partner a lot with the community and that's something I feel as a director that is so important," Armstrong said. "We not only partner with our school district and our city, but we do a lot of work to make sure our local businesses thrive."

Armstrong has advocated to recruit African American and other minority librarians.

"It is critically important that as we look at the materials and programs that we offer — that we take a good amount of time to look at our minority representation," Armstrong said. "We always are talking about how to include and recruit new minority candidates and want to encourage this space as an environment that is welcoming to all."