Marie Liang

a mentor... a librarian, a woman, a friend.... and a rickshaw driver.

This little rickshaw driver once upon a time used to regale us with laughter as she referred to those jumping on the information super highway. You remember those long ago days... we were all just getting our internet and computers and were so eager to surf the world...

She would humbly declare that she was afraid that she might be the only one, chugging along on the side of that busy road pulling her little rickshaw... watching the world whizz by...

But over all these years, she has literally pulled each and every single member of her library team and many community members in that little rickshaw. Giving them the steady determined pull to get them where they needed to go. Sometimes... when the climb got awfully steep she would stop, set the handles of that little rickshaw down... and say... ok... your turn...now you pull....

The challenge she had presented at that time often went unappreciated. "What... me do the hard part...?" And with a certain grumble one of us might pick up those handles without ever realizing that she had not gotten on to ride, but was just back around behind... continuing to give little hidden pushes and shoves...

Now to be truthful, on occasion she has even been known to stop that little rickshaw... tilt the cart... and unceremoniously dump one of us out onto the side of the road... but left to our own devices... even from this... we learned something... believe me... I know...

Because of her pulling and pushing, encouraging and demanding, the McCracken County Public Library managers nominated and our entire team and community are so proud to announce that KLA has chosen Marie Liang for the Carol J. Parris Mentoring Award.