Sam Helmick Continues To Impress In Iowa City

It has been nearly a year since beloved Burlington librarian and Southeastern Community College graduate Sam Helmick left Burlington.  The reason: To pursue an opportunity at the Iowa City Public Library.

“I just turned 35, and I’m relieved to say life is not at all what I expected it to be when I was an SCC student, or even what I expected it to be a year ago. It’s uplifting to know that we continue to write and rewrite chapters of our story. SCC was a wonderful draft that I keep tweaking and finessing and spring-boarding from to grow,” she said.

Since Helmick was home-schooled, attending SCC was initially a difficult experience for her.

“That forced me to stretch beyond my reach and dream to be more. This pandemic forced me to lean into that premise again. I was stuck, scared, and uncomfortable like most of the world, but I decided to leverage it into an opportunity to at least grow out of it,” she said

Since arriving in Iowa City, life has been hectic — in a good way.

“I’m humbled to say that it has been a wonderful experience,” Helmick said. “I knew I would grow with new responsibilities and autonomy in running a library department, so the challenges and development have occupied much of my time for the past nine months.”

Helmick is the community and access services coordinator for the Iowa City Public Library. Her job is to manage circulation, public relations, marketing, outreach, and bookmobile services for the library.

She also regularly advocates for libraries outside of her job. In January, she elected to serve on the Executive Board for the American Library Association.

“Our field has many opportunities but also several challenges in the immediate future. I am excited to advocate for public broadband, defend challenges to intellectual freedom and privacy, and continue to represent the interests of library workers and library users in this capacity,” she said.

Like many students, Helmick cites her time at SCC as transformative. So much so that she became an instructor there.

“For the last five years or so, I’ve been honored to instruct for CBIZ and on campus as an adjunct in marketing and social media. The joy in supporting the development of SCC students and watching and encouraging them to thrive and achieve their learning objectives is a pleasure beyond description,” she said.

Helmick started SCC in the fall of 2004, attended classes while working two jobs, and obtained her associate degree in arts in 2007 before transferring to Iowa Wesleyan College.

But it wasn’t always about getting the credits.

“I enjoyed creative writing and the work of Phi Theta Kappa and have great memories from those times,” she said.

Growing up in Burlington

Blessed with a hungry intellect tempered only by social insecurity, the Burlington Public Library was the perfect place for Helmick to lose herself.

“I wasn’t a very social butterfly, so I kind of late-bloomed here,” she said.

Emerging from a shell of social anxiety, Helmick flowered into a voice of stability for the Burlington community. Her humility and desire to make others comfortable have always defined her. So does the pink streaks in her hair and the polite way she addresses others.

“Sometimes it’s just easier to be a cheerleader,” she said. “I want everyone to know they are welcome here, and they are wanted here.”

In the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Helmick was a driving force behind the Burlington Public Library’s shift to online delivery and services.

Helmick’s interests span the gamut of pop culture and world history. But the tent poles of her life have always been the same — faith, academics, and her mother.

Helmick, the middle child of seven siblings, spent her elementary years at the now-defunct West Avenue Baptist Christian School. During high school, her mother became one of her teachers.

She continued to flourish academically, earning master’s degrees while devising and using metrics to better serve patrons. She is a marketing author, taking her power presentations to Toronto, Canada, and beyond.

Helmick had been with the Burlington Public Library for the past 13 years and volunteered there before that. That’s when her college studies shifted to library sciences.

“I just fell in love while I was volunteering,” she said.

Bouts of chemotherapy robbed Helmick of her hair during her battle with cancer as she attended college. She kept her hair short after it grew back. She has been through a wellness journey since then, having lost 275 pounds through a gym membership.

“Mom needed to have her knees replaced, but she didn’t meet weight requirement (for the surgery),” Helmick said. “I said, ‘We can either go cry in a box of Krispy Kremes or we can join a gym.’ ”

Helmick said she will always have fond memories of her time at the Burlington Public Library. She is grateful to everyone she met during her time at the library.

Despite her hard work promoting the library, Helmick said she regrets not reaching more people. That is not an admission of failure, however. For Helmick, it is the starting point for a marketing evolution in service to the public good.

As for her time at SCC, Helmick believes the college provided her a safe space to learn and grow — just like the library.

“This is a safe space for everyone. I want everyone to know that,” she said.

by William Smith

[Image by Joy Mack]