After a five-decade career in public libraries across the country, Nashville Public Library director Kent Oliver recently announced his retirement. And if you’re thinking “library director” sounds like an abstract figurehead position, Oliver made it everything but. His 10 years overseeing NPL’s 21 locations made it clear he had a sharp focus on intellectual freedom long before it became a debatable philosophy. He was also more than willing to roll up his sleeves and duke it out when necessary, recently launching a citywide campaign to advocate for “banned” books as politicians and activists throughout the state and the South were attempting to remove certain reading material from school curricula. During Oliver’s tenure, NPL also increased equitable access far beyond its stacks, developing a robust digital literacy program and becoming the city’s go-to resource for citizenship and civic literacy training through its Pathway for New Americans initiative.
Best Library Director
Kent Oliver
Kent Oliver
