Paraprofessional Conference celebrates 15 years

On May 10, Joyner Library welcomed more than 150 attendees to the 15th annual Paraprofessional Conference. This year’s theme was “Motivation, Energy and Teamwork.”

North Carolina’s state librarian, Timothy Owens, gave the keynote speech. A native of Harbinger, N.C., Owens began his library career at Neuse Regional Library in Kinston, followed by service at Perkins Library at Duke University and in Library Development at the State Library of North Carolina. He has served as President of the Association for Rural & Small Libraries. Owens served as a senior program officer at the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, D.C., before returning to North Carolina to become Assistant State Librarian in 2017. He was appointed the State Librarian in January 2019.

Presenters included professionals from Cumberland County Public Library, Davis Memorial Library, Duke University, Moye Library, North Carolina Central University, Pitt Community College, Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, UNC Charlotte, UNCW Randall Library, Vanderbilt University Libraries and Wayne County Public Library.

East Carolina University presenters included Monica Colon-Aguirre from the College of Education; Andrew Miller from the Brody School of Medicine; and Joyner’s Eleanor Cook, Patricia Dragon, Pam Evans, William Gee, Amanda McLellan, Katy Webb and David Wilbourne. Student presenters were Zachary Ashton and Joanna Rohrbaugh.