Introducing Richmond Kinney

Hello everyone! I am the newest member of the Libraries Strategies staff and want to take this opportunity to introduce myself and talk about my role in the organization. 

I grew up in Milwaukee and have lived in Madison, WI, Portland, OR, Duluth, MN, and now St Paul, MN with my goofy dog, Deena. Like many a bookish child, people told me I should be a librarian when I grew up. To be honest, although I went to the library all the time and checked out giant stacks of Sweet Valley High books, I really never thought about what the library staff did. After following the classic career path from a college degree in English Literature to many years of food service, I decided to go into archives where I thought I would never have to talk to a customer again. While getting my MLIS I worked at the Wisconsin Historical Society, a branch of the Madison Public Library, and a very small academic library on campus (shoutout to the Astronomy Library!). It turns out I do like helping people, just not across a coffee shop counter. After thirteen years at public libraries and four at an academic library, I ultimately ended up at Library Strategies.  

In my library career I’ve always had a focus on outreach, programs, and partnerships. Some of my favorite memories are planning an outdoor pet contest, partnering with local organizations on a month of opioid awareness programs (including Narcan training), dressing up as a scary middle grade children’s book character, and working on a project during the pandemic to give middle and high school  students remote access to university level resources they could normally only access on campus. 

In my current role as Programs and Services Manager I handle the initial stages of getting a project off the ground. I respond to inquiries about our services, write project proposals, work with our consultants on project assignments, and plan future ways that Library Strategies can build client relationships.

I am excited to be on this side of the library consulting business, and to get to know our clients and consultants. Do you have questions about our services, or anything else? You can email me directly at [email protected]. I’ll also be on the ground at ARSL in Wichita in September if you’d like to connect! I’d love to talk about past projects, future projects, or meet in person if we’ve only been chatting online.