New Manager at the Comstock Park Library
Meet Liz Knapp, the new manager at the Comstock Park Library. Knapp said she was born to be a librarian.
“I was always an avid reader, loved to read, loved the library,” said Knapp. “I decided when I worked at the GVSU (Grand Valley State University) Library I wanted to be a librarian.”
She said she’s looking forward to the adventure of managing the Comstock Park Library.
“Coming to a new branch is an exciting opportunity to connect with new people, learn about the amazing things the library can do for the community,” said Knapp, who lives just a few miles from the Comstock Park Library and knows the area well. “I’m trying to see how things are before changing anything…see that the amazing staff has what they need to do their work.”
Knapp grew up in the Grand Rapids area and graduated from Kenowa Hills High School. Her mother is a retired special education teacher, and her father is a retired Ottawa County Sherriff’s detective who was also director of Michigan’s Children’s Alliance, an organization that serves children and adolescents who are believed to be victims of abuse. Both live out of state now, but her two brothers still live in the area, and she enjoys spending time with them as well as reading and taking long walks in nearby parks.
After high school Knapp went to GVSU to earn her bachelor’s degree in language arts and literature. She then attended Indiana University in Bloomington IN where she earned her MLS (Master of Library Science) degree. Librarian jobs were scarce when she graduated, and she moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL to take a job as a youth librarian at the Broward County Libraries.
Seven years later she came back to Michigan for a job as the manager of the West Leonard Library in the Grand Rapids Public Library system. In 2014 Knapp took a job with Kent District Library as manager of the Tyrone Township Library. She came to enjoy the patrons and the small community atmosphere.
“I like working in a library in a small community,” said Knapp. “You get to have a closer relationship with township officials, get to know your patrons.”
Knapp noted that Tyrone Township is in the process of building a new library, and she is part of a committee of community stakeholders who are working with an architect on design. Once the design is complete, Tyrone Township will begin fundraising for the new library.
Knapp will split her time between Tyrone and Comstock Park, spending two and a half days a week at Comstock Park and the other two and a half days at Tyrone. She replaces Nancy Mulder, who retired March 1 after thirty years with KDL, 21 of those as Comstock Park Library Manager.