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Nearly 20 years have passed since Maria Atilano arrived on the ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ campus in 2006 as a library services associate in the Thomas G. Carpenter Library. Today, Atilano serves as the library’s student engagement librarian, spearheading student outreach efforts to promote the library through hosting events, teaching students how to use the library’s resources, offering one-on-one research consultations and more. 

“Outreach, marketing and instruction are the main parts of my job,” said Atilano. “In everything that I do, it’s all about teaching students how the library can help them.” 

While Atilano says that she is fond of all the outreach events and programming she is involved in, there is one initiative that is near and dear to her heart — Tommy G’s Haunted Open House. This annual Halloween event is the first event she planned after her promotion to student engagement librarian in 2013. A longtime dog lover, Atilano also says starting the bi-weekly Campus Canine Library Visits, developed from an earlier initiative titled "Paws Your Stress” that began in 2014, is another proud initiative. 

“These events get students in the library and lets them know that we are here to support them emotionally and mentally,” she said. 

Early career interests and becoming a librarian at ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ 

Although her family moved several times during her childhood, including a stint living in Mayport, the self-described “Navy brat” cites Norfolk, Virginia as her hometown. She developed an interest in theatre during high school and began her tenure at the University of North Carolina Greensboro as a theatre major. She quickly realized she enjoyed reading plays more than acting, so she became an English major. To earn money, she took a job in the campus library during her freshman year and continued to work there throughout college. While attending UNC Greensboro, she began dating her husband, who happened to be a ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ student. 

After earning a bachelor’s degree in English, Atilano moved to Jacksonville. Given her experience working at an academic library, she applied for several library positions and accepted an offer to work at ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ and she has been a staple at Tommy G’s ever since. 

Professional organizations and life beyond the library 

In addition to her duties at the library, Atilano maintains a busy schedule as a member of several organizations, including her recent appointment to serve as vice president of the ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ Faculty Association. She is a member of the American Library Association (ALA), often attending and speaking at conferences. Since 2015, she has attended the annual Library and Marketing Communications Conference (LMCC), a two-day conference that is the only one of its kind for library marketing and communications professionals. As board president and programming committee chair of the Library Marketing Conference Group, the nonprofit organization that oversees the LMCC, she was responsible for leading a dedicated group of volunteers to plan the LMCC’s 10th anniversary conference in November 2024. Last year’s conference, held in St. Louis, sold out early and was attended by 440 professionals. 

As the first librarian at ³ÉÈËAVÊÓƵ operating in a position solely geared toward outreach and marketing, Atilano found herself in unchartered territory and says attending the inaugural LMCC conference in 2015 was life changing. 

“That first conference just blew my mind,” said Atilano. “I found myself taking notes at every session.” 

Atilano says the networking opportunities she gains from her involvement with the ALA and the LMCC allow library professionals like herself to share valuable insights to grow outreach efforts and learn about effective marketing strategies. 

“It’s all about the sharing of ideas,” said Atilano. “Librarians are very open because we’re all about free access to information.” Atilano says she is always willing to share marketing efforts that were successful for her with her colleagues, and in turn, seeks input from others about their successful outreach initiatives. 

Beyond her professional interests, Atilano and her husband volunteer with Florida Bulldog Rescue, a nonprofit organization committed to rehabilitating and re-homing neglected bulldogs. They have fostered six dogs through the program and currently help with the organization’s fundraising efforts. 

To unwind, Atilano says she enjoys reading, watching movies and spending time with her husband and their three-and-a-half-year-old female Old English bulldog named Charlie.