Kalamazoo Public Library Board of Trustees Appoints Michael Cockrell Interim Director

Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL) Board of Trustees appointed Michael Cockrell Interim Director on the June 24, 2024, Board of Trustees meeting. Cockrell will replace current Interim Director Terry New effective June 30.

The process to hire a new interim director was initiated by the Board to fulfill the legal requirements for a Class 6 public library directorship under Michigan Administrative Code R.396.46 to qualify for continued state and federal funding. The Michigan state qualifications for library directorship certification are:

• holding a master’s degree from an accredited library school
• a minimum of four years of full-time employment in a library
• completion of the Michigan Library Association New Directors Workshop.

Michael Cockrell will bring a deep and broad administrative experience to the position. He has worked for Kalamazoo Public Library for 25 years, 19 of those in administration. He has served as the head of the Patron Services Department for KPL since October 2007. Patron Services oversees the adult print collections, digital collections, ONEplace (a nonprofit resource located in KPL’s Central Library), reference services, local history services, AV services, collections, and the Law Library. Before this position, he served as head of Loan & Outreach Services for nine years and was Lead Librarian at the Alma Powell Branch for seven years.

Cockrell holds a Master’s of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University and has 25 years of library experience. He has up to a year to complete the New Directors Workshop.

KPL appreciates the dedicated service Interim Director Terry New has provided for the past 18 months and looks forward to her continued leadership as she returns to her position as head of the library’s Human Resources Department and helps Cockrell transition to interim director.