Tennessee: Chattanooga Public Library’s Director and Her Librarian “Dream Team” Profiled in New Article

Chattanooga’s local newspaper, The Times Free Press, has published a nearly 2500 word look at what’s going on at the Chattanooga Public Library with a profile of its director, Corinne Hill and four well-known and respected librarian staff members (Alei Burns, Justin Hoenke, Meg Backus, and Nate Hill) that she recruited to the library.
The article is titled, “New director, young guns guiding Chattanooga’s library system through a renaissance.”
From the Article:

Over the last 18 months, Hill has fostered a culture of change and innovation that has affected nearly every aspect of the library, from how its book and film collections are managed to its newfound role as a technical and creative brain trust for the city.
To help realize her vision for a library that could serve a new, expanded role in the digital age, Hill headhunted a group of young, free thinkers from around the nation, individuals whose novel ideas and projects already had made them veritable rock stars of the library world.
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Visitors from other libraries regularly show up on the library’s doorstep to see what all the fuss is about, like pilgrims traveling to view a celebrated religious relic. In recent months, the library has hosted guests from libraries as far away as Seattle, Kansas City, Mo., Detroit and Australia.
“We’re in the spotlight right now,” Nate Hill says. “We really are.”
In recent months, the group has preached the advantages of library’s new philosophy during a spree of domestic and international appearances. So many appearances, in fact, that they categorize milestone events like the late June mention by Time as “a while ago.”
“I’ve done a whole bunch of crap,” Nate Hill says, laughing. “It’s hard to keep it all straight, but it’s been fun. You’re telling the Chattanooga story and getting out there what we do and helping inform other people’s decisions.”

Read the Complete Article
See Also: Urban Libraries Council honors Chattanooga Public Library’s Corinne Hill (July 8, 2013)
See Also: Chattanooga Public Library Director Introduces New Strategy (February 23, 2013)

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