KPL Congratulates Michael Cockrell as the New Library Director

KPL Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the recommendation to nominate Michael Cockrell as the library’s executive director on November 25, 2024. Cockrell officially accepted the nomination and began his role as director beginning January 1, 2025.

Michael Cockrell brings 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 been 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.

“I am both honored and humbled by this decision and the support that has been shown to me,” said Cockrell. “The challenges that we, and all public libraries, face in the future are daunting, but my confidence in the democratic ideals that libraries represent for me and my pride in the work that KPL staff does day after day to meet those challenges will never waver.”

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.

Congratulations Michael!