Jamar O. Rahming
Executive Director
Wilmington Institute Free Library
Wilmington, Delaware
Jamar Rahming’s 2018 appointment as executive director of the Wilmington Institute Free Library sparked what could easily be called a transformational rebirth for a public library that celebrated its 100th anniversary just a couple of years ago. In the words of one nominator, “The Wilmington Public Library was dying, our city was dying, and our residents were actually dying due to the city’s violence.”
The library’s metamorphosis into a thriving educational, cultural, and literacy center can largely be attributed to Rahming’s leadership and his focus on community partnerships and fundraising. The library has partnered with local barbers to stock bookshelves for children inside barbershops, hosted “Pitch or Ditch” competitions for minority-owned small businesses to pitch their ideas and compete for cash prizes, and partnered with local nonprofit Harper’s Heart to open a diaper bank and community closet on the library’s second floor.
Rahming’s efforts have also attracted a long and growing list of prolific voices and cultural icons to participate in library programs and events, including LeVar Burton, Misty Copeland, Jenifer Lewis, Dolly Parton, and the cast of “A Different World.” In a majority-Black, predominantly working-class community where many residents rarely leave the city limits, Rahming has made it his mission to bring the world to Wilmington.
“Jamar Rahming is the epitome of a librarian who goes above and beyond, not only in his work but in his mission to transform lives through learning, inclusivity, and community engagement,” one of his nominators wrote. “His leadership has fundamentally reshaped the Wilmington Public Library and has positively impacted countless lives.”
Rahming was selected from nearly 1,300 nominations from library users nationwide for the 2025 award. As part of his award, he will receive a $5,000 cash prize as well as complimentary registration and a travel stipend to attend ALA's LibLearnX event in Phoenix.
The I Love My Librarian Award is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with additional support from the New York Public Library, and is administered by the American Library Association. Since 2008, library users have shared more than 24,000 nominations detailing how librarians have gone above and beyond to promote literacy, expand access to technology, and support diversity and inclusion in their communities.