Discover Tech: Engineers Make a World of Difference. Banksy Booked @ KHCPL. Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom. Sew Much. If you enjoyed any of these, it’s because Trina Evans, KHCPL Branch Assistant, is an Innovator. She had the idea for the two exhibits, the outdoor classroom, and teaching sewing in the library.
And now all of North America will realize what the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library has known all along: She’s “Tenacious T” aka #persistentlibrarian. Library Journal selected her as one of 2018’s Movers & Shakers. She won in the Innovator category.
When nominating Evans, KHCPL Director Faith Brautigam wrote, “Trina Evans believes that public libraries have unlimited potential to have a positive impact on their communities. … [W]e have come to depend on her trademark style: think big, do your homework, then shoot for the moon.”
Evans began working part-time at KHCPL in 2014. “We didn’t realize it at the time, but she had applied several times over the years,” said Lisa Fipps, Director of Marketing. “She kept telling her family, ‘I love the library, but the library doesn’t love me.’ Boy are we glad we did eventually hire her! She heard about Discover Tech and pursued it. While being trained for Discover Tech, she learned about outdoor classrooms and worked to make it happen. As a native of Los Angeles, she grew up around street art and loved it. After watching the Saving Banksy documentary, she sought out the owner of Banksy’s Haight Street Rat to get the exhibit to KHCPL – making Kokomo home to the first library in the world to host a Banksy. She worked to find funding so that KHCPL could offer sewing programs, called Sew Much. All of this happened in 16 months. Oh, and did we mention she’s taking classes to finish her Master of Library Science degree at the same time. And has a very active family life?”
“We love it when Trina says, ‘I have an idea,’ ” Brautigam said. “She has so much energy and a true passion for libraries. She has played a key role in helping KHCPL create new opportunities for our community.” Brautigam noted that the library’s Galentine’s event is a brainchild of Trina’s, and she also came up with the idea of trying to lure former Colts player Pat McAfee to Kokomo for Guys on Tap. His schedule didn’t allow it, but she and KHCPL definitely ended up on his radar.
“I love working at KHCPL, where my boss, Lori Hugley, Head of the Branches, says, ‘Go for it!’ ” Evans said. “I love being empowered like that. It’s a sign of a great library. But I also like that staff members came along side me to make it all happen. Yes, I have the ideas and get the ball rolling, but those were all huge projects that took teamwork.” In fact, when staff found out about Evans’s award, she told them, “I really couldn’t have accomplished any of my ideas without the analytical thinking of those working at the library. I feel the work WE are doing really impacts our community! So congratulations to US! Our library is doing amazing things!”
Trina Evans, left, receives a certificate of appreciation from KHCPL Board of Trustees President Cathy Stover.
Library Journal (C) 2018, Media Source Inc.
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