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Martha Hutzel was named director of Central Rappahannock Regional Library on January 1, 2016. An employee of the library system for 37 years, Hutzel held multiple management positions at CRRL before becoming director, including branch manager for three branches and head of circulation at Porter Branch. She is a past president and current member of the Virginia Library Association (VLA), as well as a member of both the Public Library Association (PLA) and the American Library Association (ALA).
Expanded Locations
Under Hutzel’s leadership, the library has expanded its locations. In 2018, a joint-use library was opened at the Barbara J. Fried Center, in partnership with Germanna Community College. That same year, a new branch was opened at the Spotsylvania Towne Centre with support from the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors and the Cafaro Company. This location was recognized by the American Library Association for its innovative design as part of their 2019 Library Design Showcase. Two satellite locations opened to provide greater service to rural Spotsylvania County. The Belmont Satellite Location, made possible by a partnership with Spotsylvania County, the Belmont Ruritan Club, and the Belmont Club of Women, opened in 2017. The Partlow Satellite Location opened in 2019, made possible by a partnership with the Partlow Ruritan Club.
Expanded Services
Library administration moved from Fredericksburg Branch to the Library Administration Center in 2017, allowing the third floor of the branch to be turned into additional public space for books, as well as meeting and study rooms. The Fredericksburg Branch theater was expanded in 2020 to increase the number of people it can accommodate, as well as adding a sound control booth. Hutzel also oversaw shelving improvements at Porter Branch with the support of Stafford County, at Fredericksburg Branch with the support of the City of Fredericksburg, the addition of privacy pods to Westmoreland branches, and the expansion of the Library on the Go outreach program, which received grants in 2017 and 2019 to purchase two programming vans.
Innovation
IdeaSpace: Making+Media opened in 2020, offering maker technology for in-house use and checkout. IdeaSpace was made possible due to the support of the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority, the Fredericksburg Cable Commission, and The Duff McDuff Green, Jr. Fund of The Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region. Innovations to the library’s collection under Hutzel’s’ leadership have included the addition of the circulating Tech on the Go collection, with Chromebooks and hotspots; Grow a Reader kits; the Library of Things; and a steady growth in digital materials.
Community Engagement
Hutzel is a 2017 graduate of the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Fredericksburg initiative, a former member of the Chamber’s Network of Enterprising Women steering committee, and is an active Chamber board member. Hutzel is a former member of the UMW Women's Leadership Advisory Committee and a graduate of the statewide Lead Virginia leadership program. Hutzel serves on the Rappahannock Goodwill Industries Board of Directors and the Topside Federal Credit Union Board of Directors. She is a former member of the North Stafford Rotary Club, having held the positions of president, president-elect, and secretary during her membership; and remains active in Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Rappahannock-Fredericksburg.
Recognition
In 2017, Hutzel was recognized with the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Laurie A. Wideman Enterprising Woman’s Award and received the Patricia Lacey Metzger Distinguished Achievement Award at the University of Mary Washington’s 2018 Women’s Leadership Colloquium.
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