{"id":129207,"date":"2021-06-18T10:18:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T14:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/?p=129207"},"modified":"2021-06-18T10:18:22","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T14:18:22","slug":"sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/","title":{"rendered":"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KellyTwo SIS alumni were recently announced as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal<\/a>: Amber Gregory (\u201911)<\/a> as an Advocate and Kelly Passek (\u201911)<\/a> as an innovator. The Library Journal states that this list, which features 46 people this year, is comprised of \u201cindividuals who are moving the library field forward as a profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

Passek was highlighted in a 2020 SIS article about a program she created that uses drones to deliver books to children from the school library where she works in Virginia \u2013 you can read her whole story here!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
Amber Gregory<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is an E-Rate Navigator?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gregory has been the E-Rate navigator for the Arkansas State Library for a decade now, and even though it wasn\u2019t the job she had in mind when she entered the SIS program, right now she can\u2019t imagine doing anything else. The E-Rate Program is a federal program that provides funding and discounts for broadband internet access and equipment to public libraries and schools throughout the United States. But the E-Rate process is complicated, and it\u2019s Gregory\u2019s role to help Arkansas public libraries to navigate it.<\/p>\n

\u201cLibraries are such an important place in their community as an anchor institution where patrons can come and have access to internet,\u201d Gregory said. \u201cWe know that in more rural places, higher speed internet is beyond the reach of smaller libraries, which is why E-rate is so great \u2013 it allows them to afford that internet for their patrons.\u201d<\/p>\n

SIS alum and Arkansas State Library Director Jennifer Chilcoat, said in her nomination of Gregory to the Movers and Shakers list that Gregory has worked passionately to reduce barriers to internet access for the libraries of the state, and has done so with \u201ca calming and encouraging voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Career Switching<\/strong><\/p>\n

Making pottery and doing decorative restoration work were the careers Gregory left behind when she decided to go back to school. She loved doing both of those things but felt it was time for a career change and decided that libraries were where her new future would unfold.<\/p>\n

At the time, she and her husband were living in Johnson City, Tennessee, and he had just graduated and was job hunting in Tennessee and Arkansas. Being unsure of where she would be living, Gregory said the MSIS program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, made a lot of sense; if they didn\u2019t move out of Tennessee, the school would be nearby, and if they moved to Arkansas, she could take distance education classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that UTK was right down the road and that Arkansas doesn\u2019t have a library school, so UT was an easy choice. I really enjoyed my time at UT and all the classes I had, the professors, and the cohort I was in \u2013 I really think there was so much value with that program and the degree,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Gregory was still a student when she started working in circulation at the Arkansas State Library and that gave her the opportunity to apply for the E-Rate position when it was created. It was a brand-new position at the library, and that was part of the appeal for her \u2013 not only could she help public libraries across the state get crucial internet service, but she would have an opportunity to shape the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea that I would love E-Rate and broadband policy. I have been able to see that landscape evolve and I think we\u2019re at a really exciting point right now, both at a state level with broadband policy, but also on a national level, especially as we\u2019re emerging from the pandemic. The pandemic really did lay wide open the digital divide and that it definitely does exist, and it reminded us that we still have a lot of work to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Making the LJ List<\/strong><\/p>\n

Besides her tireless work in the E-Rate program over the last 10 years, Gregory tries to be responsive to other technology-related needs she sees in public libraries \u2013 which is one of the reasons she made it onto the Movers and Shakers list.<\/p>\n

One of her favorite things is to see what libraries are doing, and how they\u2019re meeting the needs of their communities in creative and innovative ways. She\u2019ll sometimes even connect one library with another that wants to implement similar ideas or programs.<\/p>\n

And sometimes Gregory takes the reins herself, like she did this last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. She saw there was a need for technical skills at many of the smaller libraries that didn\u2019t have personnel dedicated solely to technology. So she took a cue from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and worked with consultant Carson Block to create a virtual \u201cYou Can Do I.T.!\u201d tech training program.<\/p>\n

The original program in Texas was in-person, which wasn\u2019t possible during quarantining for the pandemic. So Gregory and Block worked to do the same type of hands-on program where participants could still tear down and rebuild a PC and learn other technical skills, but with virtual guidance rather than in-person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty fun, and I will say it was a learning experience, because when we all went home during the pandemic we were figuring out how do you deliver content, how do you make it interesting?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In addition to her day-to-day work, Gregory is also the chair of the American Library Association\u2019s E-Rate Task Force, which coordinates with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) that administers the E-Rate program for the FCC. She is also the library representative on the USAC board. Both of these positions allow her to communicate concerns from a state level to a national level, and vice-versa.<\/p>\n

Gregory said it\u2019s an honor to be on the Library Journal\u2019s Movers and Shakers list, and it was even nicer to come back from a vacation right after the announcement was made to an email inbox full of warm wishes and congratulations. But at the end of the day, she gives a lot of credit to all of the people at the libraries she helps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love working with the public libraries. My favorite part is talking to a library director or the IT director and hearing about the wonderful, exciting things going in their library and community and just the creativity and dedication that I\u2019m able to see and hear about. They\u2019re very inspiring, their stories are inspiring, and anything I can do to help, I\u2019m happy to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two SIS alumni were recently announced as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal: Amber Gregory (\u201911) as an Advocate and Kelly Passek (\u201911) as an innovator. The Library Journal states that this list, which features 46 people this year, is comprised of \u201cindividuals who are moving the library field forward as a profession.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-news","category-featured-story"],"yoast_head":"\nSIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal - School of Information Sciences<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal - School of Information Sciences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two SIS alumni were recently announced as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal: Amber Gregory (\u201911) as an Advocate and Kelly Passek (\u201911) as an innovator. The Library Journal states that this list, which features 46 people this year, is comprised of \u201cindividuals who are moving the library field forward as a profession.\u201d […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"School of Information Sciences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-18T14:18:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hillary Tune\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hillary Tune\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hillary Tune\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/569f000aca9fa12bba5f8ab96c17d08e\"},\"headline\":\"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-18T14:18:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1108,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sis.utk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni News\",\"Featured Story\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/\",\"name\":\"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal - School of Information Sciences\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sis.utk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-18T14:18:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/569f000aca9fa12bba5f8ab96c17d08e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sis.utk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sis.utk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/2021\\\/06\\\/18\\\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/\",\"name\":\"School of Information Sciences\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/569f000aca9fa12bba5f8ab96c17d08e\",\"name\":\"Hillary Tune\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cci.utk.edu\\\/sis\\\/author\\\/htune1\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal - School of Information Sciences","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal - School of Information Sciences","og_description":"Two SIS alumni were recently announced as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal: Amber Gregory (\u201911) as an Advocate and Kelly Passek (\u201911) as an innovator. The Library Journal states that this list, which features 46 people this year, is comprised of \u201cindividuals who are moving the library field forward as a profession.\u201d […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/","og_site_name":"School of Information Sciences","article_published_time":"2021-06-18T14:18:22+00:00","author":"Hillary Tune","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hillary Tune","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/"},"author":{"name":"Hillary Tune","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#\/schema\/person\/569f000aca9fa12bba5f8ab96c17d08e"},"headline":"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal","datePublished":"2021-06-18T14:18:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/"},"wordCount":1108,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg","articleSection":["Alumni News","Featured Story"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/","url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/","name":"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal - School of Information Sciences","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-06-18T14:18:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#\/schema\/person\/569f000aca9fa12bba5f8ab96c17d08e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sis.utk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/KellyPassekWeb1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/2021\/06\/18\/sis_alumni_named_as_2021_movers_and_shakers_by_the_library_journal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SIS Alumni Named as 2021 Movers and Shakers by the Library Journal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/","name":"School of Information Sciences","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/#\/schema\/person\/569f000aca9fa12bba5f8ab96c17d08e","name":"Hillary Tune","url":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/author\/htune1\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129207\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cci.utk.edu\/sis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}