CURRENT POSITION Assistant Director for Technology, Training, and Innovation, Clayton County Library System, GA DEGREE MLIS, Florida State University, 2011 FAST FACT Gooch-Voyd is also an ordained minister and marriage officiant and has her own small business, MV3 Events. FOLLOW @mdotgooch; marquitadgooch.com Photo by Roy Cummings

Virtual Reality Visionary

Marquita Gooch-Voyd—who became the first person of color to receive the Georgia Public Librarian of the Year award in 2020—sees the impact that technology can have on patrons’ lives and careers. 

The Clayton County Library System’s (CCLS) Entrepreneur in a Bag program “was something that I pushed for since my very first year here at Clayton,” she says. Originally designed for small business owners, the bundled kits include a Chromebook, wireless mouse, mobile hotspot, and mini printer in a messenger bag. They’ve since become a vital resource for patrons who don’t have access to computer equipment at home.

More recently, noting that many tradespeople were reaching retirement age, she launched a pioneering program with Interplay Learning that uses virtual reality (VR) to simulate hands-on training in trades such as plumbing, HVAC, and solar panel installation. The program has been an immediate hit, especially with younger patrons. “To kids, when they put the helmet on, it’s kind of a game, but what they’re really learning is the physical motions” that the work would entail, says Gooch-Voyd. Just a few months after launch, the library is already fielding requests for partnerships with local schools.

Gooch-Voyd was nominated by several patron-facing staff at CCLS. Former paralibrarian Daphne Dykes writes that “she creates programs for library users that serve as catalysts for life improvement.” Dykes adds that, in Gooch-Voyd’s role as marketing, website, e-newsletter, and social media manager for CCLS, she has significantly raised local awareness of “the numerous resources available to the public.”