EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED ONLINE

摘要

Last February I was introduced to Bob Spence from the Carnegie Library in Ballinger, TX. Ballinger is a town of about 4000, smack-dab in the middle of the state. The library serves a small, rural community, and in spite of a beautiful 1911 Carnegie building, it is constantly under the gun for enough money, staff, and resources to support its patrons. Right off, Spence told me he'd been "cramming to learn the how-tos" ever since he'd started in his new role as library director, only six months before. "I'm 67 years old and always ready to learn something new. My learning curve with the library has been mostly up but...it's also a privilege to serve this community and try to get them excited about the information that is available to them. It's an honor to be a librarian." In subsequent months, Spence shared his goal to have Ballinger's library become "the most practical public library in West Texas." He asked for advice on involving his library board, cataloging relevant web sites, and, in true Texas form, his struggle with "wearing so many hats."