Twenty-nine years later

 What's the secret to working for the same company for 29 years? Loving your job and who you work with.

            “I love helping students find what they need,” said Fran Garrison, one of the librarians at North Hall Library, “Especially when it's something hard to find. It's like a treasure hunt for me and it's such a great feeling when you've found what a student needs to do well.”

            Hailing from Southern Virginia, Fran joined the staff at Mansfield's library after graduation from library school in Nashville.

            “I had job offers from Macon, GA and Mansfield. I came to interview here for the experience and had no intention of coming here, but I loved the people here and I decided to take the job. They were so kind and sincere that I fell in love with the place. At first I was only going to stay for two or three years, but I met my husband who is from the area and Mansfield really became home.”

            Fran's first position was as the education librarian which she found appealing because her undergraduate degree was in elementary education. Twenty-nine years later, she has many more academic areas that she is responsible for. Fran over-sees the library resources for: education, school library sciences, psychology, communication, philosophy and music. While she's not a specialist in many of the areas, she always does her best to find what students need.

            Fran's advice for students is something that we hear a lot from professors, but it has a new meaning coming from someone who many of us don't see every day. She said, “Get involved, and not just in campus organizations. Get involved in class, get to know your professors and utilize the resources available to you like the learning center, writing center and the library. Not only do we want to help you and see you succeed, but all of those things contribute to your success.”