CURRENT POSITION Assistant Library Manager, Maryland Library Association Vice President/President Elect, Howard County Library System, Rosedale and Cockeysville Branches, MD DEGREE MSLS, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 2017 FAST FACT Keppler was previously a movie theater manager, and watches 250–300 movies a year. FOLLOW mdlib.org; hclibrary.org; Goodreads.com/group/show/688961-leaders-who-library-book-club Photo by Geoffrey Baker

Place and Purpose

Naomi Keppler was a high school dropout who felt there was no place in the world for her. One morning, while working as a janitor in the Carroll County Public Library, she dropped a box of recycling. An issue of Library Journal about community building caught her eye. That night, she researched how to become a librarian. Keppler earned the needed degrees, and now, at 30, is manager of one of Maryland’s busiest branches and president-elect of the Maryland Library Association (MLA).  

Keppler put that knowledge and enthusiasm to work during the pandemic. As 2020 MLA Conference Director, rather than cancel, she worked with staff to reenvision the event online, collaborating with MLA’s technology committee to build a virtual platform that other states replicated. She also planned the free Leading from Home virtual training, serving more than 1,000 people, including more than 700 nonmembers. As Professional Development Panel Chair, Keppler devised new guidelines for virtual programming used by all MLA units.  

During the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Keppler worked with the Steering Committee to create MLA’s Statement Against Racism and pushed to ensure an action plan to make MLA’s leaders accountable for their commitment to promote a more inclusive association. She collaborated with the current and past presidents to initiate a program called Black Authors Matter, free for all members. 

“Libraries transformed my life and gave me a vehicle to help other people,” Keppler says. “The library gave me a purpose on this planet.”