Northern Michigan University 1996 alumna Skye Patrick, CEO of the massive Los Angeles County Public Library system, is one of seven recipients of the 2025 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards, which recognize individuals whose “innovative solutions to critical state challenges improve people's lives, create opportunity and contribute to a better California.” The honor also included a $350,000 grant and other resources for her organization. Patrick previously earned a national award when Library Journal named her 2019 Librarian of the Year. She is also a past NMU Alumni Achievement Award recipient.
“Since 2016, Patrick has transformed LA County Library into a hub of inclusion, innovation, and impact,” states her Irvine Award overview. “Drawing from her own experiences of seeking stability and self-discovery in libraries, she has expanded their mission far beyond book lending. Under her leadership, the library serves 3.4 million residents annually, offering culturally relevant programs, career development resources, mental health support, services for the unhoused, and interventions for public health crises like the opioid epidemic. Patrick's vision ensures libraries remain welcoming spaces that bridge gaps in education, equity and opportunity for all Angelenos.”
“This award was an amazing surprise and a huge honor,” Patrick said. “Not only that, it's humbling. There has never been someone in the field of information studies who has received it, so I think that indicates an understanding of the critical role public libraries play, and from so many vantage points. We have the ability to be a touch point for so many different communities. It is incredibly rewarding to have a foundation like James Irvine validate the importance of the work we are doing.”
The numbers and challenges associated with the LA County Library seem daunting, even to Patrick after nearly a decade as CEO. It is the second-largest library system in North America by location, with 86 locations across 49 cities. The county is the most populous in the United States, with nearly 10 million residents—more than the population of 40 states. Over three-quarters of its residents are non-white, more than one-third were born outside the U.S., and collectively, they speak more than 150 languages. A significant portion of residents face social and economic hardships.
“When I was applying for this job, I was like, ‘Oh my God, can I do a job that big in a way that's meaningful?'” she said. “When I came here for my final interview, I arrived a few days early so that I could drive to 10 pockets of this big county to see with my own eyes and understand what those communities were and possibly what they needed. I was able to ask questions and gain insight from library staff who didn't know I was a job candidate. Since coming on board, I've visited most of our locations and I've held community visioning sessions every few years so we document what residents feel is needed and how we're responding.”
Under Patrick's leadership, the LA County Library has demonstrated innovation through the programs such as the iCount initiative that ensures the system reflects and serves its diverse communities and is a welcoming space for all. Literacy promotion is also a focus, through such offerings as summer in-person tutoring for elementary students and online diploma completion for adults. A free borrowing system supplies everything from tools and sewing machines to kitchen utensils. This summer, it will expand to musical instruments for disadvantaged youth.
The library has expanded its reach as well, whether extending wi-fi to its parking lots to provide 24/7 access, or the 15 mobile service units it operates throughout the county that include reading machines for different age groups and MākMō makerspaces, which deliver STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) programming to underserved communities.
Patrick said the library also serves as a cooling center during heat waves and wildfires—the county is one of the most at-risk in the United States for natural disasters—and provides a safety net for public health challenges. It offers naloxone and fentanyl test strip distribution to combat overdoses, provides gun locks to promote safety, shares mental health resources, and distributes free lunches for students in the summer.
“Libraries are not just storehouses for books, which in itself is a beautiful thing; they're about people, and having a bigger vision that includes a social services framework for the world we reside in,” Patrick said. “When you look back at the Assyrian libraries 2,000 years ago, the tablets and papyrus were all there, but you also find evidence of community spaces—what would be equivalent to bowling alleys today, as well as bath houses. Libraries need to be adaptable to future technologies and societal changes, but in some ways, it feels like we're also returning to their historic roots of providing needed services and building community.”
It was at the Capital Area District Library in her hometown of Lansing that Patrick's love for reading and learning was nurtured, and where her vision for the transformative power of libraries took root and guided her career. She said it was a judgment-free space that offered stability, resources and a sense of belonging.
“I was a child of foster care, so I didn't actually like checking out the books, because I would lose them when I had to pick up and move really quickly, back when they were moving kids with trash bags rather than suitcases,” she added. “But I walked more than a mile to get to the library at one point and when I moved farther away, I would take the bus there and sit and read all day Friday, Saturday and sometimes on Sunday. It was really important for my sense of safety and for consistency, which is lacking in foster care. There was so little that I owned and possessed, but I never went anywhere without a bus card and library card. These are the ways in which the library impacted me, and they have informed how I try to create inclusion for LA County Library users.”
Patrick also worked at the libraries at her high school and NMU, where she earned a BFA with a concentration in film. Upon arriving in Marquette, she was struck by the area's natural beauty. But she encountered challenges related to the relative lack of diversity compared with her hometown. Patrick said she proudly reflects on being one of the students who started what became the LGBTQ student group at Northern. She also played a role in reactivating the African American organization.
“The university understood the necessity for these affinity groups, which provided a safe space where students could be nurtured and supported,” she added. “It has been nice to learn that some of the issues I confronted have since been addressed by Northern, and well-being and belonging are priorities in the university's current strategic plan; that's a game-changer for many. I will say that some of my best friends in the world today are those I made in Marquette. We are all still connected as a group, about six or seven of us. We communicate via text threads and vacation together. So for that, Northern and Marquette were really critical to me forming my version of family.”
Patrick has devoted her education and career to reimagining libraries as essential, accessible pillars of the community. Her innovative approaches and ideas, despite often-tenuous budget circumstances, contributed to her becoming a 2025 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award recipient.
Learn more about Patrick, her impact on the community and her award here.