Since January 2011, Kristin Shelley has been the Director of the East Lansing Public Library (ELPL). While at the ELPL she has worked to get to know the East Lansing community and to share ELPL’s story. Kristin has implemented self checkout; self pick-up holds; a Maker Studio with nine 3D printers; and ran a successful levy campaign, which was the first-ever levy for ELPL. Michigan State University gave the library their Across the Community Award in 2013. Kristin secured a $1.5 million donation, in 2015, for renovations to the interior of the library. The library was under renovation for 10 months starting in December 2015 and culminating in October 2016. The newly remodeled library fully re-opened to the public on October 1, 2016. The Library was awarded, by the City of East Lansing, the Outstanding Team Award in 2016. In 2017, the East Lansing Public Library was awarded the State Librarian’s Excellence Award, by the Library of Michigan, for providing outstanding library services, programs and resources.
Kristin is a member of the East Lansing Rotary Club Board, a member of the Rotary’s Community/Vocational Services Committee, President of the Michigan Library Association (MLA) Board of Directors, a member of the MLA Legislative Committee, a member of the Library of Michigan Board, a member of the Mid-Michigan Martin Luther King, Jr Commission, a member of the City of East Lansing’s Age-Friendly Community Committee, a member of the City of East Lansing Steering Committee, city liaison to the Pinecrest Neighborhood Association, and is an active member of the One Book, One Community Committee.
Before moving to Michigan in 2011, she worked at the Worthington Libraries in Worthington, Ohio as the Deputy Director. At Worthington Libraries she worked on three building renovation projects, opened a third branch, set up the Homework Help Center at the Worthington Park Branch and set up Job Help Centers at the three Worthington Libraries. In addition, she implemented a reorganization of the public services staff and participated in the strategic planning process with the City of Worthington, Worthington schools and the Library.
Prior to working at Worthington Libraries, Kristin was a librarian in the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) system from January 1989 through October 2007. She was the Assistant Manager/Children's Services Librarian at three branches and she managed four locations during her tenure. While at CML, she collaborated with the Columbus Literacy Council to provide English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. Kristin worked extensively with the Somali and Latino population in Columbus. She was an active member of the Ohio Library Council. She was the chairperson of the Ohio Library Council’s Diversity Conference in 2006 and she served on the Board of the Ohio Library Council from 2008 to 2011. In addition, Kristin was a member of the American Library Association’s Spectrum Advisory Committee from 2006 to 2012.
In November 2003, Kristin was awarded the Time-Warner Vision in America Award for her work through CML with ESOL populations. Kristin received the Columbus Literacy Council’s Friend of Literacy Award in 2007.
