Staff Spotlight: Kelly Marble

Kelly Marble was the kid who left the public library with a stack of 20 books every time she visited.

Now, she does more than read books. She talks about them every day, doing what she calls a “dream job” as Digital Marketing Specialist for the Des Moines Public Library. Marble, who started in January, is in charge of creating and posting the content you see on the library’s social media platforms. She also puts together the library’s email newsletters, and recently started a “Binge Then Read” series, talking about books related to popular TV series and movies.

Marble says she loved going to the library as a kid because it represented a place of possibility. She even volunteered at her elementary school library, shelving books and laminating books. She’s thrilled she now gets to use her own professional skills to discuss the virtues of the library.

“Libraries represent equality,” she says. “They are so much more than just books on a shelf. It’s a central part in the community, where people can come together, gather, and share ideas.”

Marble is a voracious reader herself, consuming 8-10 books per month. Her first love was the Nancy Drew series. She says she loved Drew’s independence and sense of adventure.

One of her favorite books is Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. She is always recommending it to friends and giving it as a gift. “I like to start my day picking up that book and reading a chapter, because it helps me feel more connected to the earth and the natural world around me,” she says.

She recently completed Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, as well as Four Hundred Souls, a series of essays edited by Ibram X. Kendi. Up next? The Body is Not an Apology, by poet and social justice advocate Sonya Renee Taylor, and A Court of Silver Flames, a YA fantasy novel by Sarah J. Maas (the author of the acclaimed A Court of Thorns and Roses Series series)

Reading a wide array of books – books of different genres and about different life experiences – is something Marble does intentionally. “I believe reading can help people see and imagine the world from someone else’s perspective,” she says. “It seems like the world is more divided than ever, and I really do believe that books are tool for bringing people together.”

Since starting at the library, she’s discovered a lot more ways the library provides information to people. Marble says it’s been great to learn about the library’s numerous digital resources. Right now, she’s planning on taking classes on Mango, the library’s free language learning tool. She speaks Spanish, but wants to use Mango to help work on her grammar in that language. There might be more in the works too. “I might try learning a third language like Portuguese!” she says.

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