Meet Stockbridge’s New Head Librarian, Sherri McConnell
New Librarian Sherri McConnell
by Diane Rockall
Sherri McConnell officially became Stockbridge Head Librarian on Monday, May 13, although she met almost all of the staff last Friday during a staff meeting. She spent the majority of her first day on the job at Capital Area District Libraries Administrative offices in downtown Lansing meeting with the marketing, finance and information technology directors and staff. She only had a few hours to spend in her new Stockbridge office on Monday, which she spent setting up her office. This reporter met with her early Tuesday as she was settling in.
She started with CADL in 2007, working first part time at the Okemos Branch, then spent a brief period as a public service librarian for the Holt-Delhi Branch In 2016 she became CADL’s collection development specialist for non-fiction, movies and media.
McConnell was born and raised in Mentone, Indiana, a place she identifies much like Stockbridge, a small town surrounded by a largely rural community where a school district unites them all. She said on first impression, Stockbridge reminds her very much of her own original home.
She lives in Okemos with her husband and two daughters. Her eldest daughter graduated recently from MSU, and her second daughter is currently a junior at U of M. Her husband has been with MSU since 2005 and hails originally from California. They met in Massachusetts while she was working on a master’s degree in international development.
Her Library Science degree is a second master’s received from Michigan’s Wayne State University after she started at Okemos.
Before her marriage she taught English in China and Women’s Health in England. Her husband worked with the Peace Corps in Mali.
After they married and their first child was born, Sherri took seven years away from the paid work force to stay home and raise her girls. She says it was the hardest job she has ever had.
Sherri is thrilled to be here and hopes to fill the “big shoes left by my predecessor. Paul was here a long time. I will be introducing myself to Stockbridge and hope to learn how to continue to best serve the needs of this community.”
Her immediate plan is to learn how the library is used by the community before deciding anything about what might be changed or added. She reminds us all that Summer Reading, open to readers through adult begins June 7. Check with library or cadl.org/summer for more information.
Join us in welcoming new librarian, Sherri McConnell.
