JoAnn Collins
The Wyoming Library Community welcomes JoAnn Collins, the new director at Fremont County Library System. Here, JoAnn shares a bit about herself:
“As the new Director of the Fremont County Library system I hail from California, and hold an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and my Master’s degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS). Most recently I spent two years in Placer County as the Assistant Director of Library Services. Placer County is a community of approximately 200,000 people and supports eleven public libraries, six of which are considered small rural libraries, similar to the libraries in Fremont County.
“I began my career in libraries about ten years ago. After working several years in the corporate world in management, marketing and training, I decided I wanted to spend the second half of my career giving back to the community. I had worked for Scholastic, the publishing house and met several librarians that I grew to admire. Librarianship felt like the right place for me to start a second career. While I studied for my MLIS at San Jose State University, I worked my way up through the library ranks, first as an elementary school librarian, then a young adult, reference and senior librarian. I also worked as a systems youth services librarian and even tried my hand at teaching at the college level. I taught a course called information fluency and academic integrity, which I enjoyed very much. This past summer I had the opportunity to interview for the position of Executive Director of the Fremont County Library System. I am thrilled to say I was offered the job and happily accepted the position. I consider leading the Fremont County Public Library System the pinnacle of my library career. As I mentioned during my interview, we as librarians, have to do a better job of telling the library story, sharing impact stories we see almost daily at the library. Public libraries will continue to be relevant in the future and it is my job as the Fremont County Library Director to ensure that our libraries remain relevant and we continue to meet the needs of our community.
“On a personal note, I have a daughter, son-in-law and two beautiful grandchildren who live in Casper, WY. I also have two small dogs (no cats yet) that keep me busy. I love to read and garden and hope to do some hiking, fishing and maybe even some camping once I get a little more settled. My new home, comes equipped with a chicken coop, so there may be some chickens in my future. I am frequently at the Lander Branch Library, feel free to come by and meet me anytime.”