Antidote to Apathy

The library at Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC), in Waterbury, CT, serves students from every socioeconomic and educational background. Despite its wide mandate, until this past summer the library's main entrance was a narrow passage hidden on a lower level of campus. It was then that reference/serials librarian Jaime Hammond, working on a limited budget, reimagined the "secondary" entrance on the main artery as the central one.

"Jamie made sure the main level entrance was expanded, with all library services easily accessible from the school's major thoroughfare," says nominator Kate Sheehan, an open source implementation coordinator at the nonprofit Bibliomation, which provides technological and automation services for over five dozen Connecticut public libraries and schools. The more prominent location, says Hammond, allowed "for the most exposure to students as they pass by." It was an immediate improvement. "We were able to make a maximum impact with minimum changes, materials, and costs, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive." Opening doors is what Hammond is all about. An active member of professional organizations including the Connecticut Library Association, she cochaired the 2010 annual conference. Sheehan calls her "Connecticut's antidote to cynicism, lethargy, and apathy."

Today, the NVCC library renovation continues—on a strict budget. For Hammond, at NVCC since 2007, the financial limitations present the right kind of challenge. "[I've] always been artistic and interested in design, [but] I never thought my career choice to become a librarian would allow me to be this creative," she says. "My desk is covered in flooring samples, tape measures, and fabric swatches."

Vitals Max R. Traurig Library, Naugatuck Valley Community College, Waterbury, CT CURRENT POSITION Reference/Serials Librarian DEGREE MLS, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, 2005 HONORS American Library Association Emerging Leader, 2009 FOLLOW @jaimebc; movablelibrary.wordpress.com