Multitalented: Evette Atkin, Michigan Library Consortium

Evette Atkin says her wide-ranging interests feed her work for the Michigan Library Consortium (MLC), as a trainer, and as leader of the statewide development of Evergreen, an open source catalog debuting in pilot libraries there this summer. Years of teaching violinists of all ages and abilities helped her adapt instruction to librarians' existing skills and interests; origami trained her in “precision and attention to intricate detail.”

Atkin was widely praised for her workshops on Library 2.0 and for training events in Second Life, offered in MLC's virtual branch, which she created. Not a gamer by nature, she taught herself how to navigate, build, and teach in virtual worlds.

Ruth Dukelow, MLC associate director, says Atkin's technological adventurousness was the reason she was chosen to lead Evergreen, develop its documentation, and demo it for potential member libraries. “She's multitalented,” says Dukelow. That's good, because all her skills will contribute to that big job.