CURRENT POSITION Director, Cherokee Public Library, IA DEGREE Bachelor of Applied Studies, University of Iowa, 2015 FAST FACT Hahn knew his passion was rural library advocacy after a book-burning incident near his Iowa hometown. FOLLOW bit.ly/LinkedInHahn; Ilovelibraries.org; barnraisingmedia.com Photo by Michael A. Foley

Rural Bridge Builder

Raised by a single mom across the street from his tiny town’s library, Tyler Hahn gained an appreciation for the role of libraries in rural communities early. “Staff and community members taught me so much about life that I wanted to create the same opportunities for other kids where I grew up,” recalls Hahn.

He first worked at Western Iowa Tech Community College’s library before joining Cherokee Public Library (CPL) as youth services librarian in 2018. After being promoted to director in 2020, he dove into calling attention to the rural digital divide and advocating for the crucial role of rural librarians on the radio, in news outlets, and to state and federal elected officials. He started an esports program at CPL with the international nonprofit Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations, enabling Cherokee youth to become better-informed global citizens thanks to interacting with fellow gamers from Mexico, Japan, India, and Europe. Hahn also began teaching game design and other STEM skills at the local middle and high school—where such classes were simply not available before—and created resources for libraries and schools in the region looking to bring in scholastic gaming.

Up next is a program to teach adults the applications of drone technology for agriculture. “Even a small library in rural Iowa is a vibrant piece of the community that allows everyone to thrive,” notes Hahn. “For many small communities that have already lost their schools and are facing shuttered main streets, losing a library would be akin to losing a major resource of an employer like Maytag, John Deere, or Siemans.”