PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2020
For immediate release
LIBRARY DIRECTOR SET TO RETIRE
BENTON, KY—Kristi Tucker began her career at the Marshall County Public Library in 1991 as the Bookmobile Librarian.
“I loved working on the Bookmobile,” she says, remembering those early days. “It was the perfect job. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Yet, the library world had bigger things in store for Tucker. In 1997 she was named Director of the Marshall County Public Library. In that same year she began the automation process for the library, transferring all the information once kept in card catalogs onto computer databases. It was the beginning of a tech revolution for the library system.
“Kristi is very informed and progressive when it comes to technology,” says Lenisa Jones, Branch Manager for the Marshall County Public Library at Benton. “She has always pushed for Marshall County to be at the forefront of whatever emerging technology comes along. We may be a small, rural library system, but thanks to Kristi’s guidance, we’ve been able to keep up with the larger libraries in the state when it comes to technology.”
Tucker’s greatest legacy, however, will be in the buildings she leaves behind. Over the course of her career she has led four major construction projects, including the creation of new buildings for each of the library’s branches.
“A library construction project is no small task,” says incoming Director Tammy Blackwell. “Kristi believes strongly in each of our branches, which are simply extensions of our communities. She has been dedicated to making sure people across Marshall County have access to a library they can utilize and be proud of.”
In addition to her work within the local community, Tucker has been active on the state level. She has served on various committees for the Kentucky Library Association, even completing a term as the Kentucky Public Library Association’s President. In 2019 she received the KPLA Outstanding Public Library Service Award.
“Kristi has certainly made a mark on the library and the community,” says Hardin Branch Manager Deidra Tosh. “She will be missed.”
