Spotlight On ...
Janet Wilkinson
Janet, the youngest of four children, is a native of southern Illinois and grew up on a farm. A graduate of Mt. Carmel High School, she majored in music at Southern Illinois University. She taught elementary music for three years while juggling life as a mother of two young children.
The family moved to Champaign in the early 1970s, and Janet continued to use her education background by working from time to time for the Champaign School District. Those jobs included tutoring home-bound students and lunchroom supervision. In 1980 Janet began a twenty-month project at Champaign Public Library entering their holdings in their new computer system. Following this, she was hired as the Technical Services Clerk at Parkland Library. Her primary duties in those early days, nearly twenty years ago, were to process all of the Library's material to prepare them for circulation.
Just like many of the jobs on campus, responsibilities change, duties are reassigned, and Janet is now the acquisitions lead-person. She still dabbles in processing when worn-out books need repair, and you'll see her in a barbecue apron wielding the tools of the book-repair trade.
Janet has a keen interest in American history, places of historical interest, and genealogy. Through her own research she has learned that her ancestors were early settlers in Wabash County, some before Illinois attained statehood. She knows that her father's parents came to this country from Sweden and Denmark in the 1880s and settled in northwestern Iowa.
Janet has been married to Cecil over 37 years, and they have two adult children, Jeff and Martha. They are also proud grandparents of Karen, a fourth-grader at Kenwood School. Janet says that she and Cecil are "owned by one dog and two cats"!
When asked about her hobbies, Janet responds "I have too many hobbies, but my favorite is reading!" She says she was taken to the local library for her very first trip outside the home -- at age 3 weeks -- when her mother needed more reading materials. Her list of hobbies also includes: singing (church choir, alto), sewing, gardening, watching college football and basketball, traveling, shopping, and genealogy.
Of her job in Parkland Library, Janet comments, "I like the really nice people with whom I work. It can also be a real satisfaction to track down hard-to-find materials."
| In This Issue |
| New Webpage |
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... Page 1 |
| Call Numbers |
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... Page 2 |
| Janet Wilkinson |
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... Page 3 |
| Trivia |
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... Page 4 |
| Workshop |
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... Page 5 |
| Tax Forms |
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... Page 5 |
| Used Book Sale |
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... Page 5 |
| Suggestion Box |
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... Page 6 |
| Out and About |
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... Page 7 |
| Looking Ahead |
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... Page 7 |
| Library Hours |
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... Page 7 |
| Book Displays |
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... Page 8 |
| One Last Look |
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... Page 9 |
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