Maria Williams has been named as assistant director at the Northville District Library. In her new role, Williams will help to continue the mission of the library to providing a welcoming, user-friendly space, exceptional customer service, and innovative programming for patrons of all ages.
Williams previously worked at Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham where she was the head of Adult Services, a job she held since 2014. During her eight years at Baldwin, she significantly increased adult and teen program engagement and attendance, led the adult services department through a multi-million dollar renovation project, launched one of the best library makerspaces in the state, facilitated staff training through a catalog system migration, and - together with the administration - guided the library safely through the first year of the COVID-19.
“The Northville District Library is excited to be adding a librarian of Maria's caliber to its team of information professionals,” said Library Director Laura Mancini. “Her experience will be a great asset to tap into as the library works to restore and enhance patron services for a post COVID-19 environment.”
Williams holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan and a Master's of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University.
“My favorite part of public librarianship is helping people to learn new things every day,” Williams said. “Whether it's our patrons or my colleagues, it's always rewarding to be with people when they have 'A-ha!' moments. And the bonus is that I am always learning, too. I'm also a people person and love to meet new people and make new friends, so I'm quite excited to get to know the community.”
Williams lives in Detroit with Mike, a Detroit firefighter, and their pets, Jack and Linwood.
