Rural Revitalizer

When she served as field manager for OCLC’s Geek the Library community awareness campaign, Jennifer Pearson traveled to libraries across the country. She realized that rural libraries were doing amazing work in their communities, and that led her to take a directorship in a small town, a move that also let her return to the South.

In her six years at the helm of the Marshall County Memorial Library in Lewisburg, TN—a role she describes as “head cheerleader and chief fundraiser”—Pearson has, among other initiatives, partnered with the county’s economic development team to launch MarCO POLO (Marshall County Public Online Learning Organization). The first project is directed at the 88 percent of women with children in her community who aren’t in the workforce because they lack transportation, childcare, and education/training.

Greg Lowe, director of economic development for the City of Lewisburg, says, “Jennifer Pearson brought our library back from life support, breathed life into it, and made it an essential partner in the economic development ecosystem.”

Pearson has spearheaded a similar transformation in the larger field. As board member and 2018–19 president of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL), Pearson “revitalized” the association, says ARSL President Kathy Zappitello. “She is the right leader at the right time in history for small and rural libraries.” And at a particularly challenging time in history, Pearson spoke for libraries in the mainstream media during the pandemic.

Pearson’s overall philosophy is that everything a library does must be centered on the community’s wants and needs—and perspectives. “Rural libraries are just as dedicated [as larger ones] to serving their communities in innovative ways,” she says. “We just have to do it on a small budget and with a small staff. Many rural librarians are ‘accidental,’ but that doesn’t mean they don’t kick ass.”