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Monday, March 13, 2017

Meet MLC Monday: Tracy Sias-Sampson

Meet Tracy Sias-Sampson, Special Projects Officer III  for Technology Services at the Mississippi Library Commission! Tracy works directly with senior staff to support the installation, testing, and support of Office 365 at libraries statewide. She is responsible for supporting technology systems, PC operations, support, and maintenance. Tracy is also responsible for the Technical Services Policy and Procedures/Disaster Recovery plan. She reviews and updates MLC forms used by MLC staff and libraries in Adobe LiveCycle Designer and provides timely and accurate updates to work order tickets. We've been lucky enough to have Tracy working with us since October of 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Jackson State University and an Associate of Applied Science in Computer Networking from Holmes Community College.

Tracy says that solving problems is her favorite part of her job here at MLC. "Solving problems is my favorite part of life. Problems hold up progress and I’m about making progress." She also loves the environment and people. "The Library Commission staff feels like family. We are a collective of very different people. Yet, everyone seems to easily work, play and care for each other for all the reasons that really matter. I have great managers and peers."


When asked why she likes libraries, Tracy responds, "I like libraries because that’s where the books are, of course! I’ve always been a book lover, so the library always felt like home. The world tends to be loud and the library is quiet. With tears in my eyes, I’ll never forget reading and re-reading the last page of Anne Frank’s diary, in the library at Provine High School. Part of me hoped that if I read it again, it would change that crushing ending." She continues, noting that, "Libraries are important because the most important thing in this world is people, and words are how people relate to each other. Books are a way for a single individual to communicate a message or a story to people. Libraries bring together that community of ideas, whether we agree with them all or not. They make us think. They even sometimes make us act. It’s vital that all stories are told and everyone has access to them all."

When talking about how she feels about reading and books, Tracy turns to a classic TV show for reference. "There’s an episode of The Twilight Zone where this little shy, nervous guy just wants to be left alone to read. In the end, he finds himself all alone on earth with no one to bother him and his books. In his excitement of acknowledging his miraculous and ideal circumstances, he drops and breaks his reading glasses. This episode gave me nightmares for a week. I still think about it sometimes. So yes, without a doubt. I like to read."



"I love so many books. As a child, I was completely taken with Aesop’s Fables and genuinely thought that they might be true. V.C. Andrews and Flowers in the Attic was my introduction to true book series addiction. I love all kinds of fiction and nonfiction, sometimes leaning towards biographies. Mike Tyson’s biography Undisputed Truth will surprise and enlighten you. If I have to pick one book, it would be the classic, The Wind in the Willows. I am drawn in by the pastoral descriptions, the endearing anthropomorphism, and of course, their adventures where we superimpose ourselves and ask, 'What would I do?'" Currently, I’m on a Mary Monroe kick. The last book I read was Red Light Wives. Before that I read God Don’t Like Ugly and God Still Don’t Like Ugly. My next read is book three in the series, God Don’t Play.

When she's not reading, Tracy indulges her love for all kinds of music. She enjoys classical music, string quartets, and chamber music, in particular. She plays the cello, a difficult instrument to master. Her favorite pieces are Pachelbel’s Canon in C, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and Scherzo by C. Webster.

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