Larissa Schwenk was born and raised in rural West Central MN. After graduating from high school and receiving her BS from SMSU in Marshall in Psychology, she went on to obtain her Masters in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She has worked in libraries for 19 years, of which the last 9 have been spent as a Head Librarian in the Pioneerland Library System in West Central MN.

She oversees five rural libraries with populations ranging from 300 to 5,300.  Larissa has continuously changed programming in each community to ebb and flow with the needs of the town.  She sees the change of libraries from a warehouse of knowledge to a community center and melting pot as a chance to help the library meet the individual communities where they are.