Last week, on a normal Friday that may have passed unnoticed by many, the Northeast Florida Library Information Network (NEFLIN) cast a deserving spotlight on an individual whose contributions to the St. Johns County Public Library System have been anything but ordinary – Michael Macnamara, District 2 representative of the St. Johns County Library Advisory Board, has been named 2025's Library Champion, according to the St. Johns County website.
This isn't just an empty pat on the back; it's recognition dating back to 2006 that NEFLIN bestows on individuals who show exceptional support for one of its member libraries, and this network is no small fry—it encompasses 24 counties and includes 550 libraries, so for Macnamara's contributions to shine is no trifling feat without a doubt he's done his part and then some for the St. Johns County Public Library System, to the library users' benefit whether he's promoting services, developing programs or building community partnerships, according to Debra Rhodes Gibson, the system's director, in a statement obtained by the St. Johns County website.
The title of Library Champion has been claimed by a St. Johns County LAB member for the third time now, the previous recipients of this commendation include Mary Geer in 2019, lauded for her vice-chair role on the board and for fostering collaboration with Southwoods Elementary School and before Geer, it was Dr. Patricia Laurencelle in 2015, who, as an emeritus member, had long supported the library's services in the county.
In this era where digital distractions are at their peak, we find in people like Macnamara those undeterred in their mission to maintain libraries as keystones of the community—it's this consistent drive, a passion that swims against the current of the digital torrent, that garners such accolades, and it's why his peer, Gibson, could say with conviction that he "always puts library users first," highlighting his journey from an avid patron to District 2 representative with a wealth of achievements in between including promoting services, developing programs, or building community partnerships, as quoted on the St. Johns County's announcement page.
