Caroline Dulworth is the 2024 OU SLIS Outstanding Alumni Award winner. Caroline graduated from OU SLIS in 1995, and she has been in the library profession for more than 28 years, all with the Pioneer Library System where she currently serves as the Director of Branch Services. During her career, she was instrumental in the project management of both Norman Public Library Central and East as part of Norman Forward, the citizen-led quality of life initiative that passed by 72% approval rate, showcasing the overwhelming support of libraries in the Norman community.
When the Cleveland County Health Department opened The Well, a new healthy living block for the county, Caroline worked with their leadership to marry services rather than duplicate efforts. The end result was embedded librarianship – a deep partnership between the library and the health department to expand reach and enrich the quality of programs and services offered to the public.
Caroline’s leadership was transformative through the pandemic. Her staff were leaders in the state in training staff from all library types through the Oklahoma Library Association in creating digital content. She served on the Executive Team during this time, making life-altering decisions on how to protect both staff and customers’ health and well-being while also continuing to meet customers’ needs. She helped implement curbside service, YouTube channel content, production of PPE equipment from the Central library’s Maker Lab, a podcast series, installation of solar benches equipped with Wi-Fi and digital collections, and more.
Caroline was identified and recruited to work with the Urban Libraries Council to conduct research on opportunities for at-risk youth. She recently served on a panel with other library professionals across the country to share how libraries are reaching target populations such as teens at risk of incarceration and young boys of color in community engagement projects. Her focus on developing youth also expands to transitioning Teen Volunteer programs to align with the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s ICAP Internships.
She has also worked with Dimensions Academy, Norman Public Schools’ alternative learning environment, to bring enrichment programs to students who may face challenges in more traditional school settings. This includes music lessons, STEAM enrichment, and more. This partnership has continued more than 20 years and continues to thrive and evolve.
Most recently, Caroline has led through another emergency response situation due to the closure of Norman Public Library Central due to mold remediation. Within hours of being notified, Caroline had gathered the PLS leadership team and was brainstorming temporary locations for "pop-up" library services so as not to further disrupt the customer experience. She quickly placed more than 65 staff across the other 11 locations of PLS and worked with City officials and others to make this transition as seamless as possible. The result so far has been one of collaboration, sharing strengths, and experiencing a shared love of serving the public, all thanks to Caroline's strong leadership.
