Eloquently Unquiet

Neither of Buffy J. Hamilton's parents finished high school, but they "did everything they could to support my love of learning and reading," she says. This unyielding support during her childhood in rural Georgia enabled Hamilton to become the respected, outspoken change-maker she is today. A school librarian at Creekview High School in Canton, GA, and an influential blogger, Hamilton is "decidedly unquiet when it comes to sharing my voice on issues that impact librarianship and learning," she says.

On her blog, The Unquiet Librarian, she speaks out eloquently on issues from the challenges of teaching in a test-driven environment to navigating the complexity of Kindle use in school libraries to why librarians should have their own academic departments.

At Creekview High—a place of positive "noise"—Hamilton's proudest accomplishment has been introducing Media 21, a participatory, transliterate learning environment for research projects. It helped earn her a Cutting Edge Service Award from the American Library Association's Office for Information and Technology Policy.

A dynamic speaker at conferences, Hamilton's "lucid and nonthreatening manner" pushes librarians beyond their "comfort zone," says nominator Diane Cordell, a retired K–12 teacher/librarian and facilitator for CyberSmart Education Company.

What else feeds her soul? Running. It "gives me joy, strength, and serenity"—and the ability to go the distance as a librarian. Some parallels: both require you to "set a goal and go after it," "embrace discomfort," and "learn to love the hills."

Vitals Buffy J. Hamilton, Creekview High School, Canton, GA CURRENT POSITION School Librarian DEGREE Ed.S., Instructional Technology & School Library Media, University of Georgia College of Education, 2005 BODY & MIND Running makes her a better librarian FOLLOW @buffyjhamilton; theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com