Agenda 02-08-22; 4 - Chapel Hill Library Advisory Board – Appointment Discussion

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