staff training

Located in the heart of the Deep South, Bossier Parish, Louisiana is home to nearly 100,000 people. Within the 935-square-mile county are the seven branches of the Bossier Parish Libraries, with the Bossier Central Library near Shreveport at the system's center. New to the library, in both role and person, is Jaketha Farmer.

In a small mountain town in southeastern New Mexico, Phyllis Reed directs Ruidoso Public Library with little outside technical help. Despite its somewhat oxymoronic name (Ruidoso means “noisy” in Spanish), and the fact that the clientele population snowballs during the winter, the library runs smoothly and efficiently. This efficiency is due, in large part, to the director’s unspoken rule of thumb: give people a fish and they’ll eat for the day, but teach them how to fish and they’ll eat forever. Reed believes that everyone – colleagues and clients alike – benefits best by sharing, by not hoarding information, and by daring to problem solve and learn as a team.

Somewhere along the way, there is always that one librarian who seems to be just as excited—if not more—than you or the other patrons about the pursuit and sharing of knowledge and information. Annie Adamson, a librarian of Caldwell Public Library, is one such enthusiastic—and enthusing—example.

Calhoun County, located in northwestern Florida in one of the state’s five poorest counties, isn't home to any IT companies, nor does the county government have a system in place to help its agencies with their technology needs.