About Samantha Ward
All my life, I’ve always loved a good story—regardless of the medium. My love goes beyond simple enjoyment; I believe stories have the power to change lives for the better. Without realizing it, stories have been at the center of my career choices from the very beginning.
By the time I was in middle school, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Since then, I have learned storytelling comes in many forms and expanded my skills to include this wider range of mediums.
Being a student journalist during my undergrad led me to conversations with so many interesting people I otherwise would not have met like the chef and co-owner of a food truck in Dublin, an artist who makes iconic Chrysanthemum murals, and the residents of a sustainability-focused commune. These days, the majority of my writing skills go into assignments for class, but I have also found it helpful for when I ran social media for a public library and for one of my many side projects: a blog about all things libraries, books, information access + my ongoing career journey.
And that leads to where the next step in my career took me. I ended up not pursuing journalism after getting my degree because I felt there was another field calling my name that could use those skills and passion in a different form. Things came together for me in a very serendipitous way. On a random Tuesday, I checked my local library’s website to see what their hours were, and I happened to see a post about them hiring for a library assistant.
​
It suddenly clicked. Why had I never considered libraries as a career option before? They had been part of my life for as long as I could remember, but it wasn't until that moment I realized libraries are (at least in part) run by people who get paid to do that. I did a deep dive into learning as much as I could about this field, loving everything about it. . . and I did eventually get that job 😉
Since then, I have also had the pleasure of working with kids and teens as a youth education coordinator (public library), and I now work as a prison librarian for Georgia’s only faith-and-character-based prison. These three very different jobs in libraries have already given me so many experiences to pull from, and I feel very lucky for that.
​
I also started a master’s program in library science through the University of Alabama where I have already learned about professional ethics and values, the past and current roles of libraries in society, an overview of the kinds of libraries out there, and a deep-dive into various aspects of graphic novels for libraries serving youth. With many classes still to take, I know I will learn even more as I progress in this program.
​
In my career, I’m looking for opportunities to work directly with patrons, students, clients, etc. to help them reach their goals and evolve as community members through the power of stories and information access. There is nothing more satisfying to me than helping someone find *exactly* what they were looking for whether it is in the form of books, articles, community resources, or anything else offered through libraries.
​
I’m here to be a valuable asset to a team that is just as passionate about community work and knows that we will always work better together than divided. While I am happy in my current role with the GDC, I am still always interested in hearing about projects and other kinds of opportunities in the LIS field. Plus, my lines are open for networking with fellow information professionals! If that’s you, shoot me an email at samwardhere (at) gmail (dot) com or check me out on the social media listed at the bottom of my site.