Karen Knox, Rochester resident and former Associate Director and IT Manager at Rochester Hills Public Library (RHPL), has been awarded the prestigious “Mover and Shaker” award from the national magazine, Library Journal. In its March 15, 2012 issue, Library Journal named 53 outstanding professionals committed to providing excellent service to meet the needs of the people they serve. Karen is currently the director at the Orion Township Public Library, but her nomination and ultimate selection for the award was based on her work at Rochester Hills Public Library. 
Library Journal honored Knox because of her success completing an entire overhaul of the technology at the Rochester Hills Public Library. Christine Lind Hage, Director at RHPL, shared that Knox was hired in 2005 when she created an overall technology plan. “She installed an entirely new network, updated a phone system, revamped an old-fashioned website, migrated to a new library automation vendor, and installed about 200 new computers. She did all of this with a very part-time staff… vastly improving our customer service, staff moral, and efficiency.” In 2010, she also migrated most of the servers to a virtual environment to save power and increase efficiency.
“Being recognized as a ‘Mover & Shaker’ indicates that, as a professional, one has the passion, dedication and desire to serve the public,” said Francine Fialkoff, Library Journal Editor-in-Chief.
Knox graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan in 1997 and with a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Texas in 2000. She worked at the Novi Public Library (MI) and the Rochester Hills Public Library (MI) before coming to the Orion Township Public Library to be the new Director in February 2012.
The 2012 Movers & Shakers were selected by the editors of Library Journal, the profession’s leading trade magazine. Each of the Movers & Shakers will be prominently featured in the March 15th issue of Library Journal and celebrated at a special luncheon in June during the American Library Association’s annual conference in Anaheim, California. The print feature’s companion website is sponsored by OCLC and available at www.libraryjournal.com/movers2012. The luncheon and awards ceremony is made possible by the support of sponsors, including ABC-CLIO, DEMCO, ProQuest, Reference USA, and Rosen Publishing.
Read more about new inductees at www.libraryjournal.com/movers2012.
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