Tamara Denby Email & Phone Number

Tamara Denby graduated from the University of Missouri with a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) in May 2022. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies from Siena Heights University she raised five children while simultaneously building a successful career as a commercial fiction author. She discovered her passion for librarianship while volunteering in her local library and subsequently decided to make a career move from content creator to information organizer and disseminator. Since she made that pivotal decision, she has focused her career on serving rural libraries in southern Michigan where she has been inspired by seeing firsthand the unique challenges faced by individuals living in rural regions, particularly related to digital literacy and access to technology.Her skills are the result of her varied work experience and fall under several categories. She possesses strong communications skills, with a proven history of producing written communications of all kinds, from marketing copy and press releases to policy. She is a seasoned administrator with knowledge of all facets of running a business, including budgeting, personnel management, and marketing. And she is an artist with both the creative and technical skills to create digital visual, audio, and video materials. As the library director of the Clinton Township Public Library, she tripled the library’s annual grant income in her first year; successfully supported the pursuit of the first new millage the library has sought since the library’s formation; improved the library’s collaborative relationships with local organizations including newspapers, schools, nonprofit organizations, and businesses; updated the library’s technology including the website, social media, patron computers, and network; introduced new tools and resources to the library’s staff and patrons and provided training on how to use them; and navigated the complicated, ever-changing regulations arising from the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The driving force behind her efforts is the deeply-held belief that libraries are agencies called to serve the under-served, remember the forgotten, and seek out the ignored as they provide access to resources and services to every member of their communities.Her goal upon graduating is to continue to build her career by holding positions that allow her to marry her creativity with her critical thinking, analytical skills, and administrative backgrounds while providing essential services to individuals and communities.