Sam H

About Me

Sam Helmick has served as the Community & Access Services Coordinator since September 2020. Sam is responsible for the teams which provide Help Desk, Bookmobile, as well as Public Relations and Marketing services to the community.

Preceding employment in Iowa City, Sam started their career at the Burlington Public Library in 2008 as the Youth Services Library Assistant, and in 2010 they became the Public Services Manager.

Sam received their Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services from Iowa Wesleyan University and their Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois. Sam is a published author on matters of Social Media Marketing and Human Resources. Sam has served on multiple committees for the American Library Association, as the Chapter Council and Intellectual Freedom chair for the Iowa Library Association, as chair of the Iowa Governor’s Commission of Libraries, and as a member of the third cohort of the Library Freedom Project. Sam currently serves as the Iowa Library Association President and on the American Library Association Executive Board.

Sam has spoken internationally for library conferences on topics including intellectual freedom, social marketing, outreach, and library fundraising.