Barbara Gail Dixon loves to read — which , when you learn about her workplace , you ’ ll realize , is quite a fortunate thing .

“ I don ’ t even remember learning to read , really ; it just seems to have always been a part of my life . I can recall my first grade teacher Mrs . Gardner passing out the old Dick and Jane readers and thinking to myself , ‘ what fun !’ I would just get lost in books — the whole world just goes away when you ’ re reading .”

Barbara has been the director of the Upland Library for 13 years now , and has loved so much about it . After years of experience working in bookstores , she found herself with the happy opportunity to grow our library in 2003 . And growing the library is just what she ’ s done ! From the 200-300 books circulating per month in 2003 , she celebrated that 2,600 books are circulating per month now ! “ I just listen when people tell me the certain types of books they want … and let me tell you , this is a reading community !”

She realized from day one that a few updates needed to take place to keep the library thriving . Over the years she ’ s developed a two-row shelf of VHS tapes into shelves of DVDs and CDs available for checkout . The library has grown with Barbara ’ s dedication to knowing her libraryvisitors and recommending or requesting the books they like . Her efforts to join

Evergreen ( a growing integrated library consortium of more than 100 public , school and institutional libraries located throughout Indiana ) have also opened up incredible opportunities . She explains , “ Evergreen makes thousands of titles available that we don ’ t quite have the funding to purchase .” This online system ships any books within Evergreen right to the front desk of Upland Library .

“ Something I feel most passionate about is getting kids into the library .” Barbara keeps a colorful book back in her office filled with photos and articles of incredible events she organizes to make reading fun . One of these events is the Summer Reading Program . “ Every year , we have broken the previous year ’ s record for involvement . We had 246 kids involved last year !”

Barbara is working on organizing another favorite past event — the Frozen Program . Two years ago was the first round of this fun day , complete with craft time , refreshments , stories , and a large colorful ‘ Olaf ’ for students to take photos with . “ These kids are our future and if you don ’ t get them reading while they ’ re young , they won ’ t ”.

When Barbara is not greeting families at the front desk , or tracking down new titles for visitors , she ’ s teaching art classes to students at St . Paul ’ s School in Marion . She has loved cultivating her own love for

creating , and watching students discover their talents as they work with paint , glue , paper maché , and become inspired by artists before them .

After growing up in this community , Barbara has loved working at the library , developing new friendships and reconnecting with old friends . “ One of the perks for me is getting to know the families —

I get to watch kids grow up as they come in over the years .” She loves getting to teach and work with her books , and recommends that each of us take a bit more time to do the things that they love . “ Reading , writing poetry , working on a car … stop and do something you love ! I don ’ t think any of us do that enough .”

“ Reading , writing poetry , working on a car … stop and do something you love ! I don ’ t think any of us do that enough .”

If you ’ d like to meet Barbara and hear some of her favorite stories of library fun , or perhaps ask for her latest reading recommendation

, drop by the Upland Library and say hello ! You might just walk away with a few new additions to your reading-list .

Initiative , Continued from 1

Communities selected for site visits will be notified on Thursday , April 6 . Next , these communities will be asked to host a visit of members of the State HCI team . HCI applicants that are ultimately selected to be part of HCI ’ s

Generation 5 will be announced on Thursday , May 4 .

The HCI Generation 5 community teams will undergo an extensive training program to help focus their energy on one of three Building Blocks designed to build on their community development opportunities . The Building Blocks include :

• Economy – Build a supportive

community environment for small businesses and entrepreneurs .

• Leadership – Develop a new generation of local leaders who will take an active part in addressing community priorities .

• Placemaking – Invest in your place through creative quality of life initiatives related to public spaces , design

, local foods and tourism , among others . “ Every community has strengths they utilize to make their homes a better place and HCI allows them to identify where they still have room to improve ,” said David Terrell , Director of Ball State University ’ s Economic Development Policy . “ The local HCI teams will develop a deep

understanding of what their community needs to successfully maintain dedication of local leaders for years to come .”

HCI Generation 5 designees will join 14 communities that have already received the Hometown Collaboration Initiative designation . The previous 14 designees are engaged in the process and moving

forward with the Building Blocks and projects to improve their communities .

For more information regarding the application , eligibility requirements or to sign up for the webinar , visit http :// indianahci . org / apply . If you have any questions concerning the application process , please reach out to your OCRA Community Liaison .