Welcome to the MLC Board, Lori Ward Barnes!

Join us in welcoming Lori Ward Barnes, the director of the Jackson-George Regional Library System (JGRLS), to the Mississippi Library Commission Board. Lori was in her mid-20s when librarianship "found her" and she has been a professional librarian ever since. She started as the director of a very small, single-county library system in Alabama. She switched to youth services for a while, but has been back in administration for about ten years. Lori says she gets the most enjoyment from administration because it puts her in a position to make a difference in how a library system progresses. Outreach as one of the most important things her library system does and Lori is proud that JGRLS's outreach has expanded exponentially since she became director. This has been as varied as a prom at a local nursing home (participants visited the library to research planning and costumes and library staff assisted in throwing the event) and Head Start and day care visits (they bring the library to the children).

Lori has now worked in libraries for thirty years and is at the pinnacle of her career, making her a great addition to the MLC Board. Not only does she have a lot to offer by way of expertise and experience, but she's eager to learn and grow. She wants to make a difference in public libraries across Mississippi and feels very positively about what MLC does for them. She says MLC's services are extremely valuable, especially to our state's small, rural libraries. These libraries can do just as many wonderful things as library systems with multi-million dollar budgets--they do it all the time, but MLC is key to making that happen. These libraries may not have the local resources or funding to do everything they want to do, but then MLC steps forward with resources like e-magazine trials, book club kits, and special collection kits that supplement programs and collections. MLC also facilitates the LSTA grant program, which is incredibly important to all libraries in Mississippi.

Lori has been married to her dear husband Jim for many years. They are proud parents of a son and a daughter and are also new grandparents. She says that being a brand-new grandma eats up all of her non-library time, but that she loves every minute of it. Congratulations, Lori!