Meet MLC Monday: Gavin Gainey

Meet Gavin Gainey, Facilities Maintenance staff for the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC)! Gavin's job includes maintaining MLC's lobby and grounds, as well as smaller duties, like meeting room set up. Gavin has been working at MLC for a month, so give him a warm welcome if you see him.

Since he has started here, Gavin says that he is impressed with what MLC does to enable visually and print disabled readers to enjoy and participate in a love for literature. He continues, "Libraries make sure people have access to information and knowledge regardless of social status, age, or even disability."

Gavin says that he read more when he was younger, but that his favorite book has always been The Count of Monte Cristo. He is also a musician, photographer, and graphic artist. He loves listening to music, whether it's in the comfort of his home or in a live venue.

Welcome to the MLC Board, Becky Wright!

Join us in welcoming Becky Wright, president of the GFWC-Mississippi Federation of Women's Clubs (MFWC), to the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC) Board. A little bit of history: nearly 100 years ago, the MFWC decided that every county in the state needed their own library. In fact, when MLC was officially created in 1926, the house bill that was submitted and approved specifically stated that the president of the Federation or a member recommended by her would always be a member of the Board. (1) MFWC is a fixed and integral part of Mississippi library growth and development and we're extremely pleased to have their continued valuable support.


Becky's local public library is the Jesse Yancy Memorial Library in Bruce. Not only is she a big library fan, but she has been a library volunteer for many years. She has shared books by reading them to students at local schools, but she is most involved with their Brown Bag Luncheons. She says she loves the opportunity to get to know local authors and make them welcome in their community. Bruce is a small town of about 2,000 people, but they've been able to entice some big names. Tom Franklin and Ace Atkins were just two authors whom she loved meeting at the library.

Becky and her husband own and operate the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Bruce, Mississippi. She brings a wealth of experience to MLC's Board: she has been actively involved with the Bruce Chamber of Commerce for 25 years and has served on their board for 22 years. Becky has seven grandchildren and says that one of the things she wants to accomplish while on MLC's Board is "making sure that libraries are always open and available. My grandchildren and their peers always need to have a place to go to learn, especially in cases where they don't have the means to gain information anywhere else." She adds, "Funding for libraries is something we always have to keep pushing for. Our organization will not hesitate to lobby for the continuance of full funding each year."

Becky has been most impressed with MLC's programs and achievements. She thinks the agency's goals are commendable and really likes that MLC staff is consistently out in the state, visiting libraries, training front-line librarians, and being available for consultations. MLC's Talking Book Services has also blown her away; their readiness to speak about the program to local clubs and service groups is a huge plus in her book. She is also excited about the Mississippi Book Festival and MLC's involvement with that from its inception. Regretting that she wasn't able to attend this year's festival due to a prior commitment, Becky pledged to make it to next year's event.

Congratulations on joining the Board of the Mississippi Library Commission, Becky Wright!

(1) A History of Mississippi Libraries, edited by Margarete Peebles and J.B. Howell

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!

Get Outside Your Comfort Zone

For most of us, stepping outside our comfort zone is difficult and stressful. I like to be challenged and to experiment with new technology, but I am intimidated by things that are difficult for me to understand. I recently faced this dilemma and it really sent me into a tailspin.

The executive director of MLC told me earlier in the year that he would like me to start a podcast for the agency. I knew absolutely nothing about podcasts and the prospect of creating one sent me way outside my comfort zone. There is a whole lot more to podcasting than I ever imagined!

I had no idea where to begin, so I requested that MLC purchase some books on podcasting, read a lot of articles, and spent several months researching ideas. I listened to some incredibly good podcasts, a lot of average podcasts, and some exceptionally bad ones, all of which gave me concrete ideas about what would work best for MLC. I reached out to my peers across the country to see who's podcasting and I received lots of great feedback from them. (Thanks, ALA PR Talk!) I did a few test runs in the beginning that were bad... really bad. No one in their right mind would listen to my first efforts unless they needed a good nap! The biggest challenge was coming up with an interesting story line for my show.

About six weeks ago, with some additional input from colleagues, I worked out a plan that has serious potential. Once our executive director signed off, I hit the road for my first interview... then my second. I am on my way to creating an informative, interesting, and, hopefully, successful podcast for MLC and I can't wait to share it with all of you.

The moral of this story: never be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. You can accomplish anything you want with outstanding results through a little bit of research and planning.

P.S. Be on the lookout for the podcast in the coming months! More details to follow soon!

Not Even the Sky's the Limit!

Do you have a great idea? Have you thought of something innovative and extraordinary? Something unique and useful? If you are an inventor, an entrepreneur, or an innovator, you need to get to know the Patents and Trademarks division of the Mississippi Library Commission (MLC). For over twenty years, MLC's Patent Librarian Lawrence Smith has been assisting people in the know research patents and trademarks.

One such patron is Martin McCurtis. Many years ago, Martin was waiting for his then-fiancée to finish at the beauty salon. After seeing how uncomfortable she was after an hour under a hooded hair dryer, he was astonished that her hairdresser said she needed at least another hour before her hair would be dry. He had what he called a "God breathed" moment and got to work. Once finished with his design, he visited Lawrence at MLC to find out more about trademarks and patents. Lawrence pointed him in the right direction and now Martin holds the patent for the Momentum Hair Dryer. (You can read more about his hair dryer in this Mississippi Business Journal article.)

Lawrence Smith and Martin McCurtis in MLC's Patent and Trademark search room

While Lawrence is always available to assist patrons, representatives from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, and the Mississippi Small Business Development Center will be here tomorrow, July 10, for a special Patent and Trademark Workshop. The workshop runs from 8:30-4:30. Sign up through our Survey Monkey link and join the ranks of those innovators who have gone the extra step to make their inventions reality. Not even the sky's the limit!

Remembering our Mississippi Heroes

Two of the most influential figures in the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement were born on the same day only three years apart. Aaron Henry entered the world on July 2, 1922, in Dublin, Mississippi; his friend Medgar Evers was born July 2, 1925, in Decatur, Mississippi. Both men were Army veterans and college graduates. Both were members of the NAACP and fought for the civil rights of African-American citizens in Mississippi, whom the white population segregated, disenfranchised, terrorized, and murdered. Evers was assassinated in his driveway when he was only 37. Henry became a long-time member of the Mississippi House of Representatives before passing in 1997.

To learn more about Medgar Evers, check out:

• For Us, the Living
  Myrlie B. Evers
• The Autobiography of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches
  edited by Myrlie Evers-Williams and Manning Marable
• Medgar Evers: Mississippi Martyr
  Michael Vinson Williams
• Never Too Late: A Prosecutor's Story of Justice in the Medgar Evers Case
  Bobby DeLaughter
• Medgar Evers
  Mississippi Encyclopedia
• Medgar Evers
  Mississippi History Now

To learn more about Aaron Henry, check out:

• Aaron Henry of Mississippi: Inside Agitator
  Minion K.C. Morrison
• Aaron Henry: the Fire Ever Burning
  Aaron Henry
• Aaron Henry
  Mississippi Encyclopedia
• Aaron Henry
  Mississippi History Now

If you're in Mississippi, consider a field trip to:

• The Medgar Evers Home Museum
• The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

Both of these Mississippi heroes and icons deserve our attention and our respect. Join us in honoring their memory and their accomplishments. Happy birthday, Mr. Evers and Representative Henry!

MLC's MRB at NLS in DC

Talking Book Services Director Mary Rodgers Beal recently returned from a whirlwind training trip to Washington, D.C. While there, she attended National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Orientation, a training hosted three times each year for network librarians from across the United States. NLS is "a free braille and talking book library service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical disability that prevents them from reading or holding the printed page. Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS circulates books and magazines in braille or audio formats, delivered by postage-free mail or instantly downloadable."

TBS Director Mary Rodgers Beal at the Library of Congress

Mary Rodgers says that some of her favorite parts of the training were touring the NLS recording booth and experiencing the book recording process firsthand, learning more about talking book player repair, and the tour of the Library of Congress.

The National Archives and Records Administration building

Did you know the Library of Congress still has a physical card catalog for part of its collection?

The prettiest, most stately reading room in existence, found at the Library of Congress

Mary Rodgers also loved hearing from the book and magazine production team. "It was neat to hear all of the different parts of the process of picking which books to order and record and then how they go on and process the books in their catalog to share with the network libraries."

NLS seminar

Mary Rodgers said that networking with other NLS staff was fun and informative, but that she was ready to get back to Mississippi to apply what she had learned. You can learn more about Talking Book Services here in the Magnolia State by visiting their webpage. Welcome back, Mary Rodgers!