Medford Public Library Director Sam Sednak looks forward to growing and changing with the community

Sam Sednak is rolling a cart through the library. She’s on her way to the second floor, where the monthly Coffee and Books group is waiting.

The cart is loaded with books... and donuts. The coffee is fresh. The group of residents, including former Library Director Barbara Kerr, is ready to get down to business.

Coffee and Books is just one of the many activities the Medford Public Library offers to its residents. There are a bunch more: the Library of Things, Book-A-Librarian, makerspace activities, story times for kids, English language classes and social service office hours, in addition to all the other things for which libraries are famous.

But Sednak says there is so much more the library can offer to its patrons and the community at large. And she’s ready to do that.

“I am so excited,” she says when asked about taking the reigns as the library’s new director after Kerr retired earlier this year. “How can I not be? I am excited every day by Fanny Farmer.”

A painting of Farmer, which once hung in City Hall, is now in Sednak’s office. Farmer, says Sednak, is an inspiration, a self-educated woman who suffered a stroke at 16 while attending Medford High School but overcame complications that left her disabled and went on to a career as a teacher and cookbook author.

Like Farmer, Sednak doesn’t let much stop her. She laughs about bringing her “chaotic energy” to the community.

“I really like being part of Medford and the community,” Sednak says.

How she got here

It might surprise you to learn Sednak hasn’t always wanted to be a librarian. In fact, library science was the furthest thing from her mind when she arrived in 2002 from Nebraska to attend Boston University.

“I was all over the place when it came to my major,” she says. “I had to be an English major because that’s what I had the most credits in.”

She enjoyed a semester overseas in Niger, where she took French classes and undertook lost wax brass casting, an ancient process using wax models to create brass replicas.

“That was such an amazing experience,” Sednak says, laughing. “Being outside the United States opens everything to you. You feel in love with all the possibilities of the universe.”

When she graduated in 2006, Sednak joined the Peace Corps. She was sent to Lesotho, where she taught English and science.

It was there, Sednak found her future.

Library founder becomes children’s librarian

During her time in Africa, Sednak found the school she was in had a small library that remained locked because there was no staff. The books were in bad condition and in need of repair.

Sednak volunteered to come in early and open the library to students, many of whom arrived early and then stood around waiting for school to start.

“It was amazing to watch people who didn’t have access to information blossom in response to finally having that information,” she recalls. “Sometimes, it’s not even about the books, it’s about having that space.”

During her two years in the Peace Corps, Sednak turned her energy to building four more community libraries, making sure the resources were used and helping residents develop a space that was welcoming to everyone.

When she returned to the U.S. in January 2010, Sednak applied to graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to study library science.

“This was not on my radar as a career choice,” Sednak says. “The library I went to [as a child] was small so I didn’t see what engagement at a library could be. A library can be as big or small as you want, as loud or quiet, interactive or self-service as you want."

“For someone as full of chaotic energy as I am, I didn’t see myself in a library as a librarian,” she adds. “I want to bring the library to people who might not think the library is for them.”

It’s a philosophy she brought with her to Medford in 2013 when she interviewed for the job of full-time head of children’s library services. She met with Kerr and former director Brian Boutilier, who wanted someone that could re-build the Children’s Department from the ground up.

“I had been interviewing in different places and I was offered Medford and one other place,” Sednak says. “The idea of having the flexibility to build a program was exciting to me. I ended up in Medford.”

The community quickly grew on her.

“I fell in love with the city,” Sednak says. “It’s such a neighborhood-type community. It’s the type of place where you can be walking down the street and say hi to people. There’s also a lot of good will towards the library.”

From kids to adults and beyond

Sednak quickly became a favorite among the library’s staff, growing her community of families as they arrived in the Children’s Department day after day.

“It started with the children.” Sednak says. “Then it grew into what it is today. What a great thing to be able to do! And I had a lot of fun.”

Sednak says the experience made her realize how much she wanted to be involved in the decision making for the full range of the library. In 2022, she applied for the assistant director’s job.

“I wanted to try doing bigger outreach and have a bigger impact,” she says of her goals.

A Cummings Grant helped bring a makerspace to both kids and adults.

“It’s a great place to try something out,” Sednak says of the space. “You can outgrow us or keep coming back. You can expand your own universe by just trying us out.”

Three years ago, the library held a Maker Fair. More than 200 people showed up. The latest fair, held earlier this year, had 575 people in attendance.

“It’s been delightful on the adult services side,” she says. “We do hope to expand and provide more services for just adults.”

But the joy of the library overall, Sednak says, is that all the services are free. In fact, the library is less than 1% of the city’s annual budget.

“If you come to the library, you can stay a couple of hours and use the space,” she says. “If you check out a book or an inflatable kayak, it more than makes up for the taxes you pay for its upkeep.”

Sednak urges everyone to come down and try out the library. In fact, September is Library Card Sign-Up Month.

“And if you get a library card, you don’t even have to come down,” Sednak says. “You can sit in the comfort of your own house in your pajamas and check out all the books and other things you want!”

She says there are just so many services residents don’t know the library offers. For example, there’s a job database where you can book a real person who will help you with your resume or even role play how to present yourself during an interview.

You can Book-A-Librarian for a one-on-one session if you need help researching whatever interests you. Or they can just be there to support you.

“That’s my whole philosophy,” Sednak says. “There are a million different ways to learn a million different things and that’s something we can offer this community. There’s a chaotic joy in the programming we have.”

That chaotic joy has led to a live-action Clue game with Medford historical figures front and center in the whodunit, an escape room, and the annual fairy-tale ball, among others.

“You will find there’s a lot going on in the community and the library is a part of that,” Sednak says. “We do a lot of wild programs and we just want people to come in and try us out.”

Large and in charge

A year before she retired, Kerr told the library staff she was leaving.

“As Barbara was winding up her career here, I decided I wanted to apply to be the director,” Sednak says.

It was a multi-part process: interviews, and more interviews, and more… you get the point. When the news came about who landed the job, Sednak was sure it wasn’t her.

“I got a call from [human resources] and she didn’t start out by saying, ‘Congratulations…you have the job,’” Sednak says. “I was sure she was going to say that they were going in another direction and she was trying to let me down easy. Then she suddenly told me I had the job and I was just so happy. I was rather stunned at first.”

Sednak says it was a lot, having to step into Kerr’s shoes, and it was hard to say good-bye to someone who not only hired her, but has also become a friend.

“Barbara was such a good partner,” Sednak says. “She really let you try new things. I’ve had a full career range because my entire career has been here.”

So what are her plans for the library now that she’s in charge? Sednak says the first thing has been to put spine labels on all the books.

“You wouldn’t believe how many don’t have a label,” she says, shaking her head.

Next, Sednak wants to start categorizing the collection: Putting romance, fantasy, mystery, etc., in their own sections to make it easier for patrons to find what they’re looking for.

“It’s a slow process,” she says.

The reference and information desks will be merged. Patrons will find one desk in the center of the library so more people can access it.

“The library is doing well for itself,” Sednak says of the changes. “We move more than 20,000 books through in a month.”

Sednak says there will be more changes, fixing things that aren’t working at the moment. But she sees that as a good thing.

“We grow and shift as a community,” she says. “The library is like that. When any organization doesn’t grow and shift, you stop having value. What makes the library great is that the residents of Medford tell us what they want and what they need.”

And, of course, there’s more wild activities on the horizon. Sednak says she’s not exactly sure what it will become, but she wants to have another after-hours, adult activity that’s a Taskmaster-esque event sometime in January.

When asked if all this is exciting or if it makes her anxious, Sednak laughs.

“It’s both exciting and there’s always something that needs attention,” she says. “But being the new library director, I am looking forward to seeing what comes down the road.”