Michelle Mears

Director, Rolling Hills Library (St. Joseph, MO)

PLA Member for 17 years

In 2002, I took my first public library job as a director in a town of 10,000 people. I had worked in academic libraries for four years, and was so green I knew nothing about tax levies or budgets or personnel management. PLA has been an invaluable resource for me, from the professional publications to the educational value of conferences. I participated in a PLA leadership pre-conference in Minnesota, and have been to every PLA conference since then.

Now having landed in Missouri, which has a great public library professional community, I advocate for PLA membership and involvement to small library directors and other "newbies." I'm even arranging a motor coach to transport a group of us to PLA 2020 in Nashville! PLA is the one membership I won't ever drop.