January/February 2016PeopleCentral Rappahannock Regional Library
Chesterfield County Public Library
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library
Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library
In MemoriamELIZABETH “BETSEY” ELLIS, who worked in the Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Youth Services Department for nearly 18 years until her retirement, passed away on December 11, 2015. Betsey began working in the library as a substitute in the evenings after spending the day teaching 6th grade at nearby Gayle Middle School. Upon her retirement from the classroom, she began her second career, taking a permanent position with the library and presenting storytimes; a responsibility that she loved. She recently retired from the CRRL to spend more time with her grandchildren. Her family has generously requested that donations be made in her name to the library; those funds will be used to carry on her love of connecting children and books by adding to the CRRL’s juvenile collection. Betsey is survived by her three sons, a daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. HappeningsChesterfield County Public Library
Suffolk Public Library
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MARTHA HUTZEL was named Library Director of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, effective January 1, 2016. She succeeds Director Donna Cote who held the position for 34 years. Martha has been with the CRRL for 27 years and has worked as a Reference Assistant, as Head of Circulation at Porter Memorial branch, and Branch Manager of Snow Memorial, Porter Memorial and England Run branches. Martha holds a BS in Public Administration from St. Francis University and an MLS from the University of Maryland at College Park. She is currently the President of the Virginia Library Association, a Public Library Association Leadership Academy Fellow, a past-President of North Stafford Rotary Club and currently serves on the Steering Committees for the UMW Leadership Colloquium and the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce CNEW program.
JOY MCINTIRE has been appointed Branch Manager of the England Run Branch. She has worked at the CRRL since 2006, most recently as Youth Services Department Head at the branch she will now manage. She has also worked in Youth Services at both the Porter and Salem Church branches. At England Run, Joy has been instrumental in establishing and coordinating the operation of a MakerLab. Under her direction, the YS Department at England Run also hosted both the Discover Earth and the Discover Tech exhibits from the American Library Association and their partners. Before coming to the CRRL, she had worked as a Reference Librarian and Staff Development Specialist in Maryland’s Howard County Public Library system. She earned her MLS from the University of Maryland in 1995.
After twenty-eight years in the CRRL, CAROLINE PARR has retired as of December 31, 2015. Caroline most recently served as Interim Director, but she previously held positions as Deputy Director and Youth Services Coordinator. Caroline was not only an inspirational leader at the CRRL, but for the entire library community. She was on multiple Virginia Library Association (VLA) committees and served as VLA President in 1996. She served on the American Library Association’s Caldecott and Arbuthnot Award Committees and chaired both the Newbery and Sibert Award Committees. She was also a member for the Legislative Committee for the American Library Association (ALA) and in 2011 was awarded the Distinguished Service Award Committee member, by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of ALA. When a regional children’s book discussion group lost its organizational support, Caroline worked with other D.C. area librarians to create Capitol Choices, Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens. She served as co-editor and technology consultant for the organization for almost two decades. She plans to spend more time pursuing her passions: gardening, quilting, reading and travelling the world.
MINDY GIPSON recently joined the CCPL team as a librarian in our Collection Management Department. Prior to joining CCPL, she was an adult services librarian at the Williamsburg Regional Library. Mindy’s interest in librarianship began in 2003 as a founding member of Library Friends in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (US Commonwealth) where she and her family lived until 2009. For the last six years, she has volunteered in the archives of the Special Collections Research Center of the Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William & Mary. She obtained her MLIS from San Jose State University in 2012. 
JESSICA HARSHBARGER has been promoted to library branch manager for the Midlothian Library. In 2012, she joined the CCPL team as a librarian at the Clover Hill Library. Jessica was promoted to assistant branch manager in May of 2013. In addition to the Clover Hill Library, Jessica has worked at the Bon Air Library, Community Services (during Bon Air's renovation), and most recently the Chester Library. At the Chester Library, Jessica has been instrumental in rolling out the CCPL Way and learning plans. Some of Jessica's other accomplishments at CCPL include leading the goLEAD Spring Break Teen Leadership Institute, organizing the mini-maker kits, and running the Comic-Con costume contest. She received her BA from Mary Washington College in 2000 and her MLIS from Kent State University in 2010.
NEDA DEFIBAUGH joined Jefferson Madison Regional Library as the Young Adult Librarian of the Northside Library. Neda previously worked with Orange County Public Library in North Carolina and with the Information and Library Science Library at UNC at Chapel Hill. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia, and her MLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
MONENA HALL joins the staff of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library as the branch manager of the Christiansburg Library. Her previous position was at Virginia Tech as a Community Engagement Librarian. She has been at VT since 2012. Before that, she was with Dallas Public Library working in three different branches as a children’s librarian, teen librarian and assistant manager. She received her MLS in 2006 from the University of North Texas and has a BA in Performance Arts from UT Dallas. 
Chesterfield County Public Library’s Clover Hill Library presented MURDER IN THE LIBRARY, a catered fundraiser for the Friends of the Clover Hill Library which sold out of tickets. The Central Virginia chapter of the Sisters in Crime, an organization that promotes and creates connections between women crime writers, wrote the script for the mystery. Library staff played the characters and suspects in the murder of Elsa Leadbottom, the meanest librarian in the whole world. The actors presented several scenes to establish motive and opportunity, while attendees looked for clues and questioned the actors. The event also included a panel discussion led by members of Sisters in Crime. The Sisters discussed the bones of a mystery story; the differences between means, motive, and opportunity; and who is actually responsible for choosing book cover images. To save space, attendees were divided into two groups: half watched the scenes while the other half attended the panel discussion, and then the groups switched places. At the end, everyone gathered together for the big reveal.
Suffolk Public Library is pleased to announce a new initiative called #LIBRARYMADE2016.
