New Marketing and Community Relations Manager for Heights Libraries Talks About Her New Role

As a Cleveland Heights resident, the new marketing and community relations manager for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library said she looks forward to making a contribution to her own community. 

"I really wanted to get back to doing work that would have a direct, positive impact on my community. And the library is just such a great way to do that," said Sheryl Banks, who currently is a national conference planner for the Society for Photographic Education, a national photography education organization. "I just really am so passionate about nonprofit work and public sector work. That’s where most of my work experience is."

She replaces Dean Schnurr, , and she starts March 21. 

Nancy Levin, director of Heights Libraries, said there were 65 candidates and six finalists for the position, and Banks' hire was approved Monday. 

Banks has lived in Cleveland Heights since 2004, she said, but also resided here for three years previously. 

"My heart is really here," said Banks, 43, a Kent State University grad and Northeastern Ohio native. 

As a national conference planner, Banks was responsible for organizing a three-day professional conference for the Society for Photographic Education, which brings about 1,200 attendees, 45 to 50 speakers and plans events ranging from bus tours to keynote sessions to receptions, she said. 

She also has experience working in marketing, communications, website development, layout and design.

Although she enjoys her current role, she said she was excited when she saw the position posted on the library's website, as it is an opportunity make a difference in her own neighborhood, calling the library the "center of town." 

"The access it gives people, everything from the knowledge they can get from books to Internet access in the library … You can get tax forms there, you can learn how to use a computer, especially elderly people who are nervous about technology. They really offer access to information for everybody in the community," Banks said. "Anything from music to books to movies to a meeting space ... it really is the center of town. Everything happens here."

The library also helps patrons in the tough, competitive job market by offering free Internet access, she said. 

"It's a real equalizer when you think about how things have changed, even job applications," she said.  

Banks said she plans to continue developing partnerships with other community organizations and connecting people with the library by sharing her enthusiasm for one of her favorite places to go. 

"I cannot overstate how excited I am to start working for the library. I’m a huge fan and always have been, and I can’t wait to help them with their mission."