CURRENT POSITION Library Director, Northfield Public Library, MN  DEGREE MLIS, University of Kentucky, 2007 FAST FACT Draper makes most of her own clothes, rarely buying new except for cardigans. FOLLOW mynpl.org Photo by Kara Trygestad

Library for Everyone

When Library Director Natalie Draper started at the Northfield Public Library (NPL), she discovered ideas for supporting the community through public engagement sessions. “Something we heard in the engagement that we put into our strategic plan was people needing to feel that sense of belonging in a space,” she says. “A library services community best when the staff reflect the diversity of their community.” 

As a first step, the library hired a bilingual staff person to help with the growing Hispanic population. But Draper quickly realized that more was needed. “Seeing people from the community working in a place really works to build trust,” she says. The goal wasn’t just having Spanish speakers as employees, but to demonstrate that people for whom Spanish was a first language could pursue library careers.  

She sought funding for paid library internships, partnering with Northfield Community College Collaborative so potential library interns wouldn’t face the barriers an unpaid internship caused.  

Draper then worked with the Arts and Culture Commission to bring in artworks by local BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ artists, including a mural by a BIPOC woman reflecting the town’s diversity and a mural by an immigrant from Tijuana who grew up in Northfield.  

She also removed transportation barriers for community members by expanding to year-round bookmobile service and adding items from NPL’s new makerspace (including sewing machines, a telescope, and cameras) to its cargo. A new teen space draws high school students to a safe place as Draper and her colleagues continue to find ways to welcome everyone in the community.