A Tribute to Jackie Adams Upon her Retirement by Barb Macbeth and Elisabeth Tully

This recent political season has reminded us of the diversity of opinion among neighbors, towns, and regions of our country. But I would wager that if you asked anyone, from any town across this wide land, to name the most cherished organization in their area, the great majority would choose their local public library. That would certainly be true here in Kent County, where Jackie Adams has served with distinction as Executive Director of the KCPL for the past decade, restoring its luster after a difficult and demoralizing time.

Everyone who loves the KCPL owes Jackie a debt of gratitude that would, in ordinary times, call for a large gathering to celebrate all that she has accomplished and to wish her the best on of the next stage of her life’s adventure. Alas, the pandemic makes this impossible. Rather, we plan to hold a celebration next summer, given that we are on the other side of the need for “social distancing.” While this delay may be the only sensible course of action, we don’t want to let the occasion of her actual retirement pass unnoticed. As Jackie heads into retirement this week, it seems appropriate to review and honor her tenure.

Jackie came from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to take the helm of the KCPL at a time when the library was in financially rough waters. Because of that crisis, the Board of Trustees had been reconstituted with a new group of intrepid citizen volunteers who spent long months studying the needs of the library and conducting a search for an Executive Director who could right the ship and steer the library into the future. Jackie turned out to be the perfect person for the job.

Jackie’s meticulous attention to detail soon resulted in the library’s budget returning to black ink. During her tenure she has managed the library’s finances with adroit professionalism. The budget is always balanced, and the audit reports are always unqualified. In addition, Jackie has excelled in many areas of library leadership.

She developed numerous effective partnerships. Jackie encouraged the library’s alliance with demographically diverse community partners: Local Management Board of Kent County, the Rotarians, the Department of Social Services, the public and private school systems, the Board of Elections, AARP, the Chamber of Commerce, the Sassafras River Business Council, and the League of Women Voters, to name a few.

She built a team of highly educated, well trained, and independently motivated professionals. She supported and encouraged her team’s professional development and modeled lifelong learning. She consistently celebrated the efforts of staff members, recognizing their accomplishments in her monthly reports to the Trustees. Understanding the importance of rewarding excellent work with appropriate compensation, she fought for parity of KCPL staff member salaries and wages with those of neighboring county libraries while avoiding furloughs and benefits cuts during the pandemic by economizing in other areas.

Early in her tenure Jackie helped celebrate the KCPL’s 50th Anniversary, chairing the committee that organized a celebration of the rich history of the library. The library’s website amplified the effort with a new logo “Supporting Community—Creating Connection.” That was the year of the “Love the Library” campaign, starting February 14, and a re-enactment of the historic “bookwalk” celebrating the library’s move from one High Street location to the current one.

Who could ever forget the library’s “Mini Golf Extravaganza” (Spy headline), the course meandering throughout the shelves that October, 2012? What fun!

More recently, Jackie oversaw a significant renovation of the Chestertown facility. With generous support from the Friends of the Library and the Library Foundation, she spearheaded essential but mundane changes like the upgrading of the air-conditioning system and the significant refurbishment of children’s area, the creation of the popular “Wave Room,” and the upgrading of technology and furnishings in the adult area. That the final phase was accomplished during the pandemic was challenging, but Jackie rose to meet the challenge.

Jackie maintained a high profile statewide as a strong proponent of library services. She played an active role in the Maryland Association of Public Library Administrators, especially as President in FY 2017-2018. More recently, Jackie served as President of the Board of the Eastern Shore Regional Library System.

While Jackie will be greatly missed at the library, we wish her well in her retirement and hope that she will be a frequent visitor. Fortunately, she and her husband Michael own a home in Chestertown’s historic district, where they will continue to live in retirement. Thank you, Jackie, for a decade of service to this community.

Barb Macbeth and Elisabeth Tully are the past and current presidents of the KCPL Trustees