San Diego native selected executive director of Sonoma County Library

After over a year without a permanent executive director, officials this week said they hired Ann Hammond to run the Sonoma County Library.

Hammond, currently director of the Lexington Public Library in Kentucky, has a long career in leadership positions at libraries in Florida, Maryland and California. She was selected from among hundreds of applicants nationwide. She’ll start the job March 11 and be paid an annual salary of $183,102.

Hammond said she views her move to the North Bay as a homecoming of sorts. Originally from San Diego, where both of her daughters still live, she said working in Kentucky for eight years was a surprisingly wonderful time, though that her heart and home is in California.

“I loved living in Kentucky, it’s an experience I never thought I would gain,” ?Hammond said. “But the chance to move to Sonoma County was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Hammond said she did not know what to expect when she left Alameda County for Lexington to take over as director of that library system. She faced new challenges that have reshaped the way she manages libraries.

“I have come to firmly believe that libraries are truly the last democratic institution that is welcoming to all, which is something I think we have really had to step up in during this political climate,” Hammond said.

One situation stood out during her time as director in Lexington that Hammond said made her even more steadfast in her beliefs of keeping libraries as a place free and open to everyone.

After President Donald Trump was elected, and later when rallies related to a surge in white nationalism were on the rise, Hammond said her sense of awareness was heightened in regard to how those movements affected communities she served in Lexington.

“Charlottesville, where the violent rally took place (in 2017), is not far from where we are in Kentucky and we are also technically a southern city that not too long ago had Civil War statues in a park right next to the library,” Hammond said.

Demonstrations were planned both in favor of removing the statues as well as rallies in defense of keeping them, Hammond said, and her staff was worried they were going to lead to violence directly outside the front doors of the library.

“The rallies were planned on a day when the library was open and there were talks about possibly closing just in case,” Hammond said. “I said no, we are not closing that branch, because we do not let that behavior guide us. We are here for our community.”

That kind of resolute candor that’s revealed when Hammond speaks of the role of libraries in society is what impressed Reece Foxen, Sonoma County Library Commission chair, who voted in favor of hiring Hammond.

“Ann had great answers to all of the interview questions and was very serious the whole time,” Foxen said. “Then all of a sudden, there was this really warm human being that took over who was also engaging and connecting.

“What that showed me was that she had the ability to hold a tough line when necessary and at the same time do it with a warmth that is needed in our line of work,” Foxen said.

The diverse programs offered at each of the 12 branches in Sonoma County are what really piqued Hammond’s interest in the job, she said, as well as the strong staff that has continued to work closely with the community despite ongoing rotations of interim directors.

Ray Holley, county library spokesman, said the entire staff is looking forward to having a seasoned leader like Hammond fill the role.

“Her demonstrated commitment to openness, innovation and diversity makes her a great fit in Sonoma County,” Holley said. “The library has a lot of opportunities right now and a lot of big plans.”

Hammond said there are two thing she wants the North Bay community to know before she starts her new job: She has a lot of enthusiasm for implementing new technology and she intends to create new partnerships with the city and county.

You can reach Staff Writer Alexandria Bordas at 707-521-5337 or alexandria.bordas@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @CrossingBordas.