CURRENT POSITION Executive Director, Wilmington Public Library, DE DEGREE MLIS, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, 2008 FAST FACT Under Rahming’s leadership, WPL received a 2022 National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. FOLLOW linkedin.com/in/jamar-rahming-b680b168 Photo by Emir Lake Photography

The World To Wilmington

The list of luminaries who have made in-person appearances at the Wilmington Public Library (WPL) since Jamar Rahming became executive director in 2018 is a long one. Angela Davis, LeVar Burton, Dolly Parton (who selected WPL for her early childhood reading initiative), Dennis Rodman, Pam Grier, Anthony Ray Hinton, Jennifer Lewis, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and a cast reunion of A Different World are just a few. WPL also organized Wilmington’s inaugural Juneteenth celebration in 2021—one of the city’s first major public events in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—headlined by renowned rapper KRS-One.

Rahming explains that “pop culture and the arts and humanities create social cohesion. It builds bridges; it brings people together, because it’s something that we all agree on,” adding that several of WPL’s capacity-crowd events have drawn residents from every zip code, socioeconomic class, race, and demographic that the library serves. Simply put, he believes the library should “bring the world to Wilmington.”

But community outreach is never just about major events. Nominator Terry O’Byrne, president of the Wilmington Library Board, notes that when Rahming joined WPL, he aimed to “empower this community by first empowering his staff.” (O’Byrne says that Rahming’s reinvigoration of WPL and fundraising skills also drew $720,000 for capital improvements.) His approach has helped lead to partnerships with local barbershops to develop a literacy program for at-risk youth; an alliance with the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce for an annual “Pitch or Ditch” minority small business competition, with $15,000 in cash prizes for local entrepreneurs; and many other initiatives.

“The library is a citadel of democracy and intellectual freedom,” says Rahming, “and we’re a space that welcomes all ideas and all people.”