Darcy Lipp-Acord
The Albany County Public Library has welcomed Darcy Lipp-Acord as its new deputy director. Darcy started her new position at the ACPL in mid-January.
Darcy brings a wealth of experience with her to the new position, having served at Campbell County Public Library in Gillette, Wyoming, for eighteen years. At the CCPL, she worked mostly in Teen Services, but became the Youth Services Librarian in 2016. She is also currently the president of the Wyoming Library Association and was active in that organization with the Youth Services Interest Group and the Wyoming Library Leadership Institute prior to serving on the executive board. She has presented at multiple WLA conferences and at the Young Adult Library Services Symposium (YALSA). Additionally, she has hosted an ALA webinar and presented to a few smaller library systems outside of Wyoming. Alongside Paige Bredenkamp, she was a trainer for the YALSA Train the Trainer program, focusing on public library services to teens.
The new deputy director sees many strengths in the ACPL. “We have a young and well-educated staff who are eager to learn; a very supportive Board of Directors; and a vibrant collection,” said Darcy. “In the community, I see so much support for the public library. A good share of our funding comes from two nonprofits that partner with the Library: our incredible Library Foundation, which works with some very generous community donors; and our Friends of the Library, which does an amazing job of raising money through an entirely-volunteer force. None of these efforts would be as successful as they are without the solid support of the community. People really love the library here.”
Moving forward as the ACPL’s deputy director, Darcy would like to mitigate the staff turnover the library experiences due to being in a university town and having a young staff. “I’m hoping to help staff find professional development opportunities, build a solid library work culture, and work with my Director and the Board to enhance compensation as much as possible.” She would also like to develop the services the ACPL offers to the community’s youth and build stronger partnerships with the school district and other youth service agencies in the community. “As I learn more about Albany County I want to dive more into community assessment,” said Darcy, “to ensure that our collections, programs and services continue to change to meet community needs.”
Darcy applied for the position at Albany County to take on a new challenge as deputy director, to learn about how other libraries in the state provide services to their communities, and for the opportunity to live in Laramie. “It’s a place I enjoy,” said Darcy, “and a place where I am closer to several of my kids and grandkids.”