NOTTINGHAM, MD—The Baltimore County Public Library Board of Trustees on Friday announced that Sonia Alcántara-Antoine had been selected as the next director of Baltimore County Public Library.

Alcántara-Antoine is expected to begin her tenure in February 2021 and will be the fifth director in the library’s 72-year history. Selected after a nationwide search, she replaces Paula J. Miller who retired in September 2020.

Alcántara-Antoine comes to Baltimore County Public Library after serving as director of Libraries and Information Services of Newport News Public Library since 2017. She previously served as Public Services manager for Virginia Beach Public Library and held multiple positions at Enoch Pratt Free Library.

She is an American Library Association Spectrum Scholar — a scholarship program which seeks to increase the ranks of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to leadership positions within the library profession.

Alcántara-Antoine is active in professional associations, including the Public Library Association and the Urban Libraries Council, where she serves on the Race and Social Equity and Digital Equity action teams. She holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Florida State University and is currently working toward a master’s degree in Public Administration from Old Dominion University.

“I am honored and humbled to have been selected as the next director of Baltimore County Public Library,” said Alcántara-Antoine. “The library system has considerable assets, first and foremost its dynamic staff and supportive Board. Together we will take public library service in Baltimore County to new heights, with a continued emphasis on innovation and serving the community with an equity lens. Having worked in the Baltimore area previously, this opportunity is like coming home.”