The Roanoker - March/April 2015 - 22

Lynn Hurt and the Joys of the Library
LET'S HEAR IT FOR Lynn Hurt who recently
won a 2014 I Love My Library Award, given
by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and
The New York Times. Hurt, a Roanoke native,
has worked at Virginia Western Community
College for 26 years. In 2000, she moved into
her long-dreamed-of role as librarian in the
Brown Library and in 2008, she was promoted
to coordinator. Students and staff alike know
Hurt as a woman who lives her motto of infusing every day with laughter and joy.
In honor of her recent recognition, she
shares 10 things that most people don't know
about Brown Library.
1. Banned books are not verboten in the
Brown Library and neither are band books, as
one confused student discovered when he explored a display during Banned Books Week.
2. The library isn't just for study - it's for unwinding, too - in the fiction stacks and magazine collection which includes everything
from Backpacker Magazine to The Roanoker.
3. There is a daily gun show at Brown Li-

brary, each and every time a librarian flexes
biceps earned from hauling stacks of books.
4. Roanoke Valley Reads and so do students
of VWCC when they receive free copies of the
RVR selection from Brown Library and then
participate in associated events.
5. Working at Brown Library is not for sissies. You try working with hands covered in
papercuts.
6. Some books at Brown Library are edible.
Not so much the ones on the shelves but tasty
book-themed cakes did make an appearance
during a collaboration between the Culinary
Arts Program and Brown Library.
7. There's money in them thar stacks, especially when students offset or postpone expenses by using Brown Library's collection of
textbooks.
8. Hurt has seen skulls talk in the library,
generally when dental hygiene students are
taking a break from studying the jaws of library-owned skulls. Generally.
9. There are robots in Brown Library, or at

VWCC's Lynn Hurt has won a national award.

least there were when the library ran a contest in which they offered prizes to the first 10
people who broke out their best robot dance
moves at the reference desk.
10. Though most books and resources are
for short-term loan only, the library staff specializes in long-term empowerment of those
who utilize its resources.
Congratulations, Lynn Hurt! Thank you
for helping Virginia Western students achieve
their dreams!

-SARAH BETH JONES

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22 MARCH/APRIL 2015

Celebration painting
by Eric Fitzpatrick

A century of service
in Southwest Virginia
Roanoke, Vinton, Boones Mill,
Buena Vista

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The Roanoker - March/April 2015

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