Director
lgardner@oneallibrary.org
205-445-1192
I began my library career as a Children’s Librarian at Birmingham Public Library in 1998 after graduating from the University of Alabama (BA English) and the University of Maryland (MLS). In 2001 I became Director of the Demopolis Public Library, right next door to my childhood home of Linden in Marengo County. Then in 2007 I accepted a position as Director of Lancaster Community Library in Kilmarnock, Virginia, where I successfully managed a capital campaign and major building renovation project. I was honored and pleased to return home to Alabama in 2017 to lead the O’Neal Library.
My passion is trying new things. I like to collect new experiences, and I also like to learn a little bit about a lot of things. In college, I decided to be a liberal arts minor, which meant that I learned about art, anthropology, music, and religion – the perfect preparation for answering reference questions in a library. As a director, I enjoy learning about the newest trends in libraries – open data portals, patron-centered design, and outcomes-based evaluation.
My favorite thing about working at O’Neal Library is that I learn something new from my staff almost every day. They are a talented group with diverse interests, as you will see from their short biographies.
Personally, my passion is learning about cultures and nature through travel. I hope to visit Peru, Mongolia, Australia, and Zimbabwe over the next five years. I also aim to be a better steward of the earth and its many creatures. I am currently researching how to create a more bird-friendly landscape at home using native plants.
And of course, I love Alabama football.
When asked, “If you could live in a different time, past or future, when would it be?”, I have two answers. First, I would like to live in the Pacific Northwest with the Native Americans -before Europeans landed in America - to experience a culture radically different from the modern world. I think surviving would be my primary pre-occupation. Second, I would live in Paris in the 1920’s, hopefully meet Hemingway, Fitzgerald and the like, and witness the radical change in hemlines, sensibilities, and expectations for the future.
O'NEAL LIBRARY
