Jennifer Starkey announced as next Elyria library director

ELYRIA — The Elyria Public Library System will have a new director as of Dec. 1. The board of trustees announced that Jennifer Starkey, an Elyria resident, will fill the role. She will replace the retiring Lyn Crouse, who started as director in 2012. Starkey most recently worked as the team leader for research services at the Kelvin Smith Library at Case Western Reserve University, according to a news release from the Elyria library. Prior to that, she was a humanities liaison librarian at Oberlin College from 2008 to 2017 and earlier began her library career at the Ann Arbor District Library from 2002 to 2005 while completing her Master of Library and Information Science degree. Starkey holds a B.A. in German Language and Literature and History from Kalamazoo College and an M.S. in Library Science from the University of Michigan, in addition to having served in elected and appointed roles on the Board of the Academic Library Association of Ohio. In a statement, Starkey said she is excited for the opportunity to serve the community where she lives. "I am looking forward to getting to know EPLS library users and supporters, and I welcome conversations and ideas," she said in a news release. Four branches, a partnership with Lorain County Community College's library and a bookmobile in the Elyria and Keystone school districts comprise the Elyria Public Library System. In the news release, Starkey said she is looking forward to "following the admirable directorship of Lyn Crouse who has led her team in building excellent resources and services in Elyria and LaGrange." During Crouse's time as director, the library system undertook numerous projects. Some of the more recent examples have included the opening of the permanent South Branch library in 2019, as well as the design and construction of the new Central Branch in downtown Elyria, which opened in October. Prior to becoming Elyria Public Library system director, Crouse was a library director in Pennsylvania, according to Chronicle-Telegram archives.