Congratulations to Kenosha Public Library

Sarah Townsend, incoming Director at Kenosha Public Library

Congratulations to Kenosha Public Library, who recently voted to appoint Sarah Townsend as their new Director.

Sarah served as the Assistant Director for the Suffolk Public Library in Suffolk, VA, directing public services for a community of over 100,000 people for over 10 years. Under Sarah’s leadership, the SPL Team has transformed Suffolk libraries, building a dynamic, award-winning library system with a reputation for ground-breaking community engagement and programming. During her time at SPL, Sarah has launched two new departments, Community Learning & Community Engagement, directed large-scale organizational change and lead a $24 million new library capital project. While there have been many keystone accomplishments during her SPL tenure, she is most proud of the customer-first culture at SPL with an emphasis on meeting people where they are.   

Previous to her current position, Sarah worked in a larger, urban system in various roles including youth services management, branch management and staff development administration. Sarah is a board member for the Suffolk Early Childhood Development Commission and an active member of the Virginia Library Association. She holds a Master of Science degree in Information from the University of Michigan, a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Kansas State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Creative Writing from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. 

More information can be found here.