Chat with MLC: Jennifer Lena

Hello! I’m Jennifer Lena, and I currently serve as the Deputy Executive Director at the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC). My journey to this role has been anything but linear, but it’s been filled with growth, learning, and a deepening passion for the role libraries play in our communities.

I grew up in Raymond, Mississippi, and lived there until about three years ago, when I moved to Rankin County. I began my educational path at Hinds Community College, where I earned an associate degree, and later attended Louisiana Tech for a degree in Paramedicine. After working for a few years, I returned to school, first earning a Bachelor's in Management, and then a Master’s in Public Administration from Belhaven University. Eventually, I completed a second master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Before joining MLC, I worked in both the legal and medical fields, but in 2010, I found my way to the agency as the Fiscal Services Director. In that role, I managed our budgeting and financial operations, which suited me perfectly because I genuinely enjoy working with numbers and spreadsheets. After four years, I was promoted to Administrative Services Director, where my responsibilities expanded to include overseeing our Operations, Grants, and Technology Services departments, while still managing our finances.

It was during those early days that I had a moment that truly changed the way I viewed libraries. I was on a site visit and arrived about 15 minutes before the library opened. As I got out of the car, I saw a line of people—stretching from the front door, down the steps, and around the side of the building—just waiting to get in. I had never seen anything like that before, and it left a lasting impression. It reminded me that libraries are more than buildings; they are vital lifelines for so many people.

In November 2024, I stepped into my current role as Deputy Executive Director. Today, I have the privilege of overseeing all departments at MLC and working closely with public library directors across the state. I enjoy meeting with legislators, building relationships with other agencies, and finding new ways to create partnerships that benefit our libraries and the communities they serve.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is collaborating with MLC staff and local library leaders to provide the best services possible. Whether we’re responding to challenges or helping solve unexpected problems, I find a lot of fulfillment in being part of the solution.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of change, both within MLC and across the public library landscape. Staffing has turned over, directors have come and gone, and libraries are now facing challenges we never imagined a decade ago, from political pressures to decreased funding. Through it all, libraries have continued to adapt, pivot, and serve. That resilience inspires me every day.

Looking ahead, I hope the next 15 years bring even more innovation and growth. More than anything, I want to see libraries remain what they’ve always been at their core: welcoming, essential hubs for their communities.

Jennifer Lena
Deputy Executive Director

Read with MLC: A Book with a One-Word Title

Welcome to May, and the fifth month of the Read with MLC 2025 Reading Challenge! This month's goal is to read a book with a one-word title. While September is the longest month word, May is the shortest. It makes our nerdy little librarian hearts go all aflutter to have a reading prompt - short title - that matches the month - short name. Why, though, do we see so many one-word titles, when it's possible to have, well, something more descriptive? Vivienne Woodward posits that the ambiguity of a one-word title is what makes them work so well for fiction. A short title teases the brain, makes us wonder what magical story is printed on the pages of so brief a name. MLC staff rose to the challenge of providing their favorite one-word titles, so check them out after the jump below!

Chat with MLC: Natalie Dunaway

Libraries as Facilitators for Self-Actualization...

I work as the Community Outreach Coordinator and the State Data Coordinator for the Mississippi Library Commission. In my role, I collaborate with Mississippi's public libraries on community needs assessments, partnerships, and strategic planning. This role allows me a lot of time in the field traveling to different libraries across Mississippi and getting to know the communities those libraries serve. Whether it is the Delta or the Pine Belt, through needs assessments and focus groups, I have the fortune of learning about the needs and interests of fellow Mississippians directly, and how their local public libraries can help meet those needs. Also under my purview are our disability support services. Our Disability Support Coordinator, Ruth Jinkiri, works with library systems to develop support groups in their communities for patrons with disabilities and their caregivers. Ruth also provides Mississippi’s public libraries with professional development content and training for library staff to be better able to serve those with disabilities in their communities.

Read with MLC: A "Library" Book

Welcome to April, and the fourth month of the Read with MLC 2025 Reading Challenge! This month's goal is to read a book set in a library or about a librarian... a "library" book, if you will. Next week marks the 67th annual National Library Week with the theme "Drawn to the Library!" It's a celebration of all the things that librarians do and all the services our libraries offer to our communities. Have you ever wondered what exactly we do? (I promise you, we don't get to read all day, no matter how much we might want to.) Check out MLC's page on the Institute of Museum and Library Service's website to learn more. You can also wander on over to your local public library. There's one nearby; here's where to find them. They would love to welcome you through their doors so you can browse their books, use their computers, and participate in a variety of programs. We promise: you'll be drawn to them. And no matter what, check out our staff's suggestions of "library" books to read this month for our reading challenge.

Chat with MLC: Charlie Simpkins

Hello! I’m Charlie Simpkins. I’m the Special Collections Coordinator for the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC). My love for libraries started well before I started working at MLC in 2018. My grandmother lived with my family when I was a child, and I remember our almost-weekly routine. We regularly took her to the local library for her to return at least a bag full of books and to pick up even more. She used a cane, and then a walker, to get around, so I stayed with her while she browsed, helped her get the books from the shelves, and carried them wherever she needed. (I vividly remember spending a lot of time in the Danielle Steele section.) She read throughout the day and way into the night. She once told me how, when her school library finally got a copy of Gone with the Wind, there was a long waitlist. When it was her turn to check it out, she finished the book in a single day, having stayed up all night reading to do so. She didn’t want others on the list to have to wait longer than necessary. Having her as a grandmother and reading role model had a huge impact on me. For example, when I was in elementary school, my teachers had to regularly tell me to go play at recess instead of reading. 

Read with MLC: Read a Book with a Woman on the Cover

Welcome to March and the third month of the 2025 Read with MLC Reading Challenge! This month's goal is to read a book with a woman on the cover. This not-so-subtle nod to Women's History Month should have you examining the covers of the books you are reading just as closely as you do their insides. In The Clothing of Books, Jhumpa Lahiri says “The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that a cover is a sort of translation, that is, an interpretation of my words in another language -- a visual one. It represents the text, but isn't part of it. It can't be too literal. It has to have its own take on the book." How does your chosen book portray the women pictured? Does it meet the expectations you formed once you read the book or does the cover seem to follow a book cover trend that does little to show off the story it surrounds, like the women looking away phenomenon. It’s so much of a trope that we even created this test to see if our followers could spot a fake.

 

Our staff had some fun suggesting their own books with women on the cover, either ones they plan to read or ones they've already enjoyed. Catch their suggestions after the jump!

Chat with MLC: Lawrence Smith

Hello, I'm Lawrence Smith, the Collection Management Director at the Mississippi Library Commission. I began working at MLC in 1996. My wife and I moved back to Mississippi after living in Nashville for five years to be closer to her mom. I have a degree in Criminal Justice from Mississippi Delta Community College, but I was a CNA up there. The pay for the same job in Mississippi paid half what I'd made in Tennessee, so I decided to try something new. I took the state exam for a postal clerk (I thought it was a federal exam!) and I did really well. I interviewed at both MLC and the Mississippi Department of Health on the same day. MLC called me back before I even made it back home to Yazoo City, so I accepted.