Padma Polepeddi
Biography
Padma Polepeddi, Ph.D., is assistant director of public services, community outreach at Jefferson County Public Library in Colorado. Padma started her journey in the world of public libraries as a library volunteer when she arrived as an immigrant from India to the United States, thirty-three years ago. Padma has twenty-five years of cumulative experience working in public libraries in various roles. In her current role, she is responsible for strategies for services, operational details, direct implementation of services geared towards diversity equity and inclusion, serving children and families, teens, adults, seniors, and underserved populations; operation of services at Arvada Library, Edgewater Library, Lakewood Library, Standley Lake Library, Wheat Ridge Library, and Library To You services with the bookmobile, home services, mail-delivery services, and offsite services. Padma is passionate about empowering underserved and underrepresented community groups through her professional and personal endeavors.
Padma has a doctorate degree from Emporia State University, and her dissertation is on library hesitancy and information seeking behavior of English-speaking African immigrants using public libraries.
Personal Statement
“My interest in serving on the Public Library Association Board is to motivate and empower library professionals from underrepresented groups to seek out leadership roles and to bring their voices and talents to expand the diversity of Public Library Association leadership. As an immigrant from India, public libraries opened up a world of endless possibilities for me from the time I started as a library volunteer to my current administrator role. The transformative impact of public libraries in addressing the information needs and life aspirations of people of all ages and backgrounds in the community is the driving force for my work in libraries. I am deeply committed to expanding equity, diversity, and inclusion with my ongoing work in identifying and reducing barriers to library resources and increasing access. I am excited about the future of public libraries with the endless possibilities for discovery, creativity, technology, life-long learning, building community and connections.”