Chris Brown took on the role of head of marketing and community engagement at Medicine Hat Public Library and started the job at the beginning of October this year.--NEWS PHOTO SAMANTHA JOHNSON
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
After 15 years in media, first at the Medicine Hat News and then CHAT TV, Chris Brown is a well-known personality around the city. Brown transitioned into a position with the Medicine Hat Public Library a little over a month ago in the role of head of marketing and community engagement.
Previously, this role was only head of marketing, but MHPL wants to focus on telling the stories of the community.
“Still to this day for many people, the library is just a place to borrow books from and it is so much more than that,” stated Brown. Welcoming all members of the community, the library is a safe space for anyone to come and use the services they have available. “The amount of programming that goes on trying to reach all those different groups – kids, teens, tweens, adults, families – getting the word out more about that and how the library is a community hub for Medicine right in the downtown,” continued Brown.
A year ago, when the head of marketing position opened, Brown applied because he felt it was time to look for a change and see what was available. His goal was to find a role that would use the skills he already has along with learning some new ones. Working at MHPL is certainly a change of pace without the daily deadlines and not having to travel around the city covering events.
“One thing that I’ve learned is it’s a different mindset,” explained Brown. “At either one of the other jobs, you produce something every day and at some point your day is done. Here, there are longer-term projects, it’s not a specific day-to-day thing where you start fresh, but there are also more projects going on at once.”
Another added perk of the job is Brown now has his own office and the staff at the library have been incredibly helpful.
“Even what I sense from going out into the library proper, it’s such a welcoming, supportive environment, a happy place to be that anybody can come and feel welcome as soon as they step through the doors for whatever amount of time they are here and whatever they are doing here.”
Part of his new role will be a community engagement aspect where Brown will be telling the story of the library. Not only will Brown be letting people know what the library has to offer them, he will also try and find out what things they’d like to see at the library, if there are programs not being offered that would be of value or if MHPL is missing opportunities.
“I’d like to not only tell the library story to the community but help tell the community story to a larger community,” explained Brown.
It is still early stages and a needs assessment along with strategic planning are in progress. Brown plans to reach out to the community and the general public to discover what they value about MHPL, what keeps them coming back through the doors and if they want more of something or to see new stuff being offered.
