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9 <br /> Page 1 of 2 Virginia Baeckler <br /> Volunteer Application <br /> Orange County Advisory Boards and Commissions <br /> Name: Virginia Baeckler <br /> Name Called: <br /> Home Address: 317 Joyce Road <br /> Hillsborough NC 27278 <br /> Phone (Day): 609-462-5978 <br /> Phone (Evening): 919-241-4596 <br /> Phone (Cell): <br /> Email: baeckler@gmail.corn <br /> Place of Employment: Retired <br /> Job Title: Former Director, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ <br /> Year of OC Residence: 2013 <br /> Township of Residence: Hillsborough <br /> Zone of Residence: Hillsborough ETJ <br /> Sex: Female <br /> Ethnic Background: Caucasian <br /> Community Activities/Organizational Memberships: <br /> Recently retired librarian who directed two major building campaigns. Author 4 books on <br /> library management, programming and pr. Member American Library Association, <br /> National Science Teachers Association, NYTimes Librarian of the Year, co founder of <br /> Contact Science/University of Texas at Dallas. <br /> Past Service on Orange County Advisory Boards: <br /> None <br /> Boards/Commissions applied for: <br /> Chapel Hill Library Board of Trustees <br /> Background, education and experience relevant to this board: <br /> While my academic training at Cornell University was in the field of Slavic languages and <br /> literature,' wandered far astray after a year of doctoral research in the Soviet Union. I became a <br /> lobbyist for arts in education,which morphed into being the advocate for New Jersey Media <br /> Association, working to improve political support for libraries in every school. From there, I <br /> stepped into the public library world. In Plainsboro, NJ, which has a wildly diverse population, I <br /> guided the library through rapid cultural revolutions, and in the space of 20 years, built two <br /> libraries, moving from 1400 square feet, to 14,000 square feet to 48,000 square feet. Numbers <br /> are not everything. I bring real world experience gained throughout the growth in services, <br /> holdings and finance. More than that, as a recent article trumpeted: libraries are in my blood! <br /> Since supporting myself in college by working in and eventually running a branch of the <br /> university library system, I have been dazzled by the potential of libraries as the only public <br /> institution entrusted with cradle to grave education. We are informal education at its finest. For <br /> example: With the nation facing a critical shortage of scientists, and science education lagging <br /> in school curricula, we launched a Science Center that boasted everything from science story <br /> hours for wee children, to robotics classes utilizing corporate volunteer techies, to community <br /> wide science competitions that engaged adults, teens and tots. With the advent of digital <br /> education, we brought a nifty array on online services to our public--be they adult investors, or <br />