provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The Sanibel Public Library Board of Commissioners have announced Amber Cox as the next Library Director. She will assume her position on Monday, October 14, 2024. Interim Library Director Duane Shaffer says, “We are all happy to welcome Amber to our library family and are looking forward to working with her.”
With a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, minors in Family Studies and Social Rehabilitation & Treatment from Southeast Missouri State University, a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and spending the last 13 years in various Library positions, Amber is passionate about literacy and serving others. Amber states, “I am honored to have been selected to serve the Sanibel community as Library Director. My personal mission is to foster creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning by encouraging divergent thinking, inspiring growth mindsets, and helping others to seek and discover their passions.”
Amber started her career in 2011 as an Adult & Teen Services Librarian with the Urbana Free Library in Urbana, Illinois. While in this role, she served as the technology volunteer coordinator and co-created, developed, and managed the Teen Open Lab, a teen-directed creative space which welcomed over 6,000 attendees in its first two years. In 2015, Amber relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado to work for the Pikes Peak Library District. She served as PPLD’s first East Library Makerspace Librarian and established a brand-new public library makerspace. In 2018, Amber was promoted and became PPLD’s first Creative Services Senior Librarian, and improved the workflow, best practices, and services of PPLD’s 3 makerspaces and 2 recording studios.
In 2020, Amber started as the Old Colorado City Library Manager, where she oversaw 9 staff and directed the daily operations of a historic 1904 Carnegie library. In 2023, Amber was hired as PPLD’s first Assistant Director of Programming and assisted in directing a new department of 16 Senior Librarians and Senior Library Associates to design and implement district-wide programs, services, and staff training for PPLD’s 15 branches and 3 mobiles.
Linda Uhler, Vice Chair on the Sanibel Public Library Board of Commissioners comments, “We are excited for Amber to lead the Sanibel Public Library team and build on the great work we already do while writing the next chapter in the Library’s history.”
Upon moving to Florida, Amber and her husband Aaron plan to learn how to paddleboard, visit the many beaches, nature preserves, and historic landmarks in Southwest Florida, and learn the art of collecting seashells. Amber also plans to raise mangroves through Coastal Watch’s Adopt-a-Mangrove program initiative and find other ways to care for the coastal ecosystem.
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