A joyful journey
New library director had her eye on position — now she’s carrying out her vision
For Akiliah Manuel Mills, the journey to becoming Lodi’s new library director has been a serendipitous one.
The 44-year-old Riverside County native said she had been looking for a library director’s position in Northern California for the last seven years, and in 2019, the wheels began turning in the right direction.
Manuel Mills, who was a manager for the Riverside County Library System at the time, met her predecessor at a the California Library Director’s Summit that year and asked about the future of his position.
“I had already been looking for libraries in and around Galt, where the bulk of my cousins are,” Manuel Mills said. “I met Anwan (Baker, former Lodi Public Library Director) at the summit, and I asked him ‘how many more years do you think you’ve got there,’ and he said a couple. I texted my family on a group thread right there, and told them I was going to direct the Lodi Public Library
in two years.”
Of course, her predecessor didn’t promise her the job on the spot. Manual Mills said it was nearly two years after the summit when she just happened to search the Internet for Northern California director positions.
“I was at work, having a great time, doing things I’m passionate about, covering at one of my libraries in a town called Nuevo,” she said. “The first thing that popped was Lodi Public Library Director, and it had only been posted three days prior.”
She was ultimately approved by the
“I met Anwan (Baker, former Lodi Public Library Director) at the summit, and I asked him ‘how many more years do you think you’ve got there,’ and he said a couple. I texted my family on a group thread right there, and told them I was going to direct the Lodi Public Library in two years.”
NEW LODI LIBRARY DIRECTOR AKILIAH MANUEL MILLS
Lodi Public Library Board of Directors on Oct. 11, and reported for duty the very next day.
Now, a little more than a month into the job, Manuel Mills said the experience has been amazing, and everyone she has met in her short amount of time in Lodi — including the library’s executive team, the Friends of the Lodi Public Library and the Lodi Public Library Foundation — have been warm and supportive.
Manuel Mills has already implemented changes to library operations, as she and her staff have begun strategic planning to make the facility more accessible to residents.
They have also ordered new computers for the public, the computer learning center and the children’s section, as well as adopted a new mission statement: We provide a safe place where all are welcome to learn, connect and relax.
“It’s short, it’s sweet, it’s concise, and covers everything that can fall into that,” she said. “And you can memorize it, which everyone here, including myself, will be doing. A mission statement ... informs everything we do and the experience we’re going to be creating for our patrons.”
The new computers should be operational and available to patrons by Jan. 24, when Manuel Mills said the library will host a grand opening and be fully operational once again after nearly two years of lockdowns and limited hours.
She said reopening to the public should not be difficult as the community makes its way out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I see it as an opportunity because I see this as a start-up because we’ve been dormant,” she said. “Staff has turned over, so it’s fresh inspiration, fresh eyes, fresh energy on the staff side. And the veterans are wonderful. It’s pretty exciting.”
Although Manuel Mills has spent more than 10 years working in libraries, this was not her initial calling. In fact, it’s her third career.
After graduating from Vanguard University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she became a deputy with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, working in both the patrol and custody divisions.
She then moved on to social work managing a rescue mission that served the homeless in Los Angeles, where she spent seven years helping people before she decided to change careers once again.
“If you’ve ever worked in any type of very intense social work, on the frontline — its not sustainable,” she said. “And after a time you can become unwell, especially if you’re doing it well and pouring yourself out. You have to tap out in that field.”
Upon leaving social work, Manuel Mills said her original plan was to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology, but one of her courses before graduate school asked her in what modality she would like to specialize.
She said it gave her a lot of time to reflect, but she came to the conclusion that she could not subscribe to just one.
She then asked herself what else she might want to do, and public libraries have always been “a vein” for her. So, she obtained a master’s degree in library sciences from San Jose State and was hired by the Riverside County Library System.
While there, her duties ranged from associate to interim director of operations, where she oversaw 35 branches.
“I love people,” she said in describing why she chose to pursue a career in library services. “Its socio-economically diverse, it’s all age groups, and I love info, and giving people access to info can be a game changer in their life. I saw that first hand on skid row, saw that first hand in law enforcement, so I pivoted to public libraries. I’m still doing social work, but it’s on the information literacy side, and I still love equipping and mentoring people, and I do that with my team.”
An avid hiker and kayaker, Manuel Mills said she has never done those activities anywhere in Northern California. Having the opportunity to do those things in the Lodi area was a second reason she wanted to move from Riverside County, she said.
She also loves to roller skate, surf skate and play tennis, and is a hobby farmer with bee hives and a miniature pot-bellied pig.
Currently living in Stockton, she’s hoping to eventually move closer to Lodi, in the unincorporated areas of San Joaquin County so she can raise hoofed animals, birds and chickens.
With just a month in San Joaquin County under her belt, Manuel Mills said she’s “having a ball.”
“I’m happy to be here, and for me, everything is relationships,” she said. “This is a community hub to connect people with each other and with info. The public library is the last place in 2021 where you can come with no expectations to buy anything, and that’s a sacred space to me. I don’t take it lightly and I hope everyone gets access to what they need. And if we don’t have it, we can help you get it.”