City Names New Library Director

The City has named Sam Sednek as the new Director of the Medford Public Library as long time Library Director Barbara Kerr is retiring at the end of April, announced Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. Sednek has been with the Medford Public Library since 2013 and currently serves as Assistant Director.

Sednek graduated from Boston University in 2006 and served in the Peace Corps in Lesotho after graduation until 2008. She then received her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Before coming to Medford, Sam served as the Teen Services Librarian in Haverhill. She joined the Medford Public Library in 2013 as the Head of Children's Services and was promoted to Assistant Director in 2023.

Sam served on the Building Committee during the new library construction and led the Youth Services staff through the temporary space, the COVID-19 pandemic, and moving Library locations twice. As Assistant Director, she established the 3D-printing services, the Library of Things, and further developed adult programming. She has also reorganized the Local History collections and is part of the team overseeing the digital archiving project.

“Sam brings a high level of expertise to her new position, having been with the Medford Public Library for over a decade, and seeing many phases of the building, programming, and visitors,” said Mayor Lungo-Koehn. “Thank you to Barbara Kerr for everything she has done for the Library over the last 42 years. Sam has big shoes to fill, but we are confident that she will be another successful leader for one of our community’s most valued resources.”

"Since she started, Sam (and her endless energy) has been a force in the Library's success and I know that with her as Director, the Library will keep getting better and better," said Director Kerr.

Director Barbara Kerr joined the Medford Public Library in 1984 as the Cataloger. Since then, she has served as Assistant Director for 23 years and Director for 10 years. Barbara helped guide the Library through many eras and changes, including the introduction of computers in libraries, the internet, the construction of the new library, and the global pandemic. In addition to leading the library through construction of the new state-of-the-art building, her accomplishments include the development of the Library’s abundant programming and collections, as well as publishing three Medford history books: “Medford in the Victorian Era,” “Glimpses of Medford,” and “Medford Then and Now.”