Enjoying a life of continual learning

Jessi Akins is foremost a follower of Jesus Christ. She lives with her husband in a rural community in the central-eastern part of Texas. She and her husband have four grown-ish children.

Since 2020, Akins has served as the director of the Giddings Public Library, which is the “biggest little library in Texas.” The 19,000 square-foot facility serves a population of 5,067 in a rural area between Austin and Houston.

Prior to joining the library staff, Akins spent several years teaching various subjects at the middle-school and high-school level. She also inadvertently became a curriculum writer. Before working in education, Akins spent many years in non-profit communications as a writer/editor and message massager. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication a long time ago. More recently, Akins earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of North Texas.

In 2019, under the pseudonym Jaye Brooke, she self-published Gabby’s Book of Non-Everyday Occurrences, which technically is her second book. Akins wrote a sequel to Bridge to Terabithia when she was in middle school. Some have argued that the Bridge to Terabithia sequel doesn’t count as her first book since it was only published in her parents’ dining room. She contends, however, that a completed book always counts, published or not.

And she still writes, a lot.

In addition to writing policies, procedures, staff trainings, and presentations, Akins creates simple planners, notebooks, and journals (sometimes under a pseudonym) that people can easily incorporate into their busy daily lives.

She enjoys volunteering with her church’s youth group and encouraging young people to seek the truth. Akins appreciates life on a small homestead where she and her husband manage one rooster, one guinea hen, one herding dog, three chickens, eleven ducks, and a few thousand honeybees. Occasionally, she can be found chasing a neighboring bull off the property, but she has yet to find a way to manage him.

Akins believes that life is a continual education, and she’s devoted to learning constantly. On weekdays, she can be found troubleshooting, persuading, planning, schmoozing, listening, and leading an excellent library team. On weekends, she can be found playing 42, reading, running from a rooster, and enjoying the beauty of nature. She laughs loudly and loves fully.

Contact Jessi by email using the form below.