Member Spotlight: Nan Carmack, Director of Library Development and Networking at Library of Virginia
If you think of public libraries as places with nothing but shelves of books and a few computers here and there—think again. Today’s public libraries offer everything from job search assistance, to makerspaces, to podcast studios and green screens. As director of library development and networking at the Library of Virginia, Nan Carmack works to expand services, technology and accessibility at libraries across the commonwealth.
“With my interest in people and my love of books and information, I feel like public libraries are the perfect place for me,” Carmack says.
Previously a mental health therapist and owner of a small independent bookstore, Carmack says her pivot to libraries was accidental. When large big-name competitors dried up her bookstore’s business in the mid-2000s, Carmack took up an offer to work in a community development position with the Bedford Public Library System. After getting a master’s degree in library and information science, a doctorate in education and organizational leadership, and serving as director of the Campbell County Public Library System, Carmack took her current position with the Library of Virginia in Richmond in 2017.
“Libraries are at the intersection of social justice and intellectual curiosity,” she says. “I’m so grateful to have found this particular niche.”
Every year, Carmack and her team take on a diversity, equity and inclusion project to help educate library employees and enable libraries to be more accessible to all Virginians. One of their first projects was in coordination with the organization Decoding Dyslexia.
“Dyslexia is much more complex and individualized than many people realize,” Carmack says. “We felt it was really important to educate librarians about what a person with dyslexia might need from a library.
Other years’ campaigns have included a racial equity challenge and challenges to help librarians build empathy and understanding for library customers with autism and neurodivergent thinking—variations in levels of social skills, learning abilities and attention needs.
“Library staff tend to model the attribute of lifelong learning, for which public libraries are critical,” Carmack says. “Most librarians do these challenges voluntarily to improve their knowledge and service capacity.”
An ongoing project for 2022 is the Deaf Culture Digital Library, in collaboration with the Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Fredericksburg. Intended as a digital library for the hearing and deaf communities to better understand each other, Carmack says a steering committee with members from the deaf community will assist in developing a robust online resource center.
With approximately 4,300 public library employees in Virginia, Carmack believes being prepared for retirement is an important step for them—and all VRS members.
“Any time there is an opportunity to save pre-tax dollars, that is just a smart thing to do,” Carmack says.
Carmack says she began contributing to the Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan when she joined the Library of Virginia. State employees are eligible to participate, along with employees of political subdivisions and school divisions that have adopted the plan. Contact your human resource office to find out if your employer participates in the Commonwealth of 457 plan or offers a similar plan.
To learn more about resources offered by Virginia public libraries for Virginians of all ages, visit finditva.org.