Who would think a techy would be a branch manager and an accomplished artist? Many of us have a much broader spectrum of interests, talents, and gifts than our coworkers know. Karen Walker certainly does. Now SST's Manager of e-Services and Digital Access, she is goal driven but well grounded and plays a critical role in meeting internal and external customers' needs.
Q: As SST’s Manager of e-Services and Digital Access, what are your present responsibilities at JPL and have you worked elsewhere in JPL?
Q: As SST’s Manager of e-Services and Digital Access, what are your present responsibilities at JPL and have you worked elsewhere in JPL?
I started in 2003 working as a reference librarian at the Mandarin Branch. I was the Senior Librarian at Highlands Branch, Manager at Westbrook and Graham Branches and then spent over five years in ILS. When the E-Services and Digital Access Department was created in October 2012, I moved into that position.
We have built an extensive technology class curriculum with the E-Library Specialists offering over 500 technology classes each quarter as well as hundreds of available appointments to assist customers with their tech questions.
Daily content is created or updated on the public website. We are advertising events and services, notifying our customers on important updates regarding branches and creating new content in support of library programs. The website team has been working diligently to learn Drupal and assist in the design of the new website we’ll launch this spring. This has been a massive undertaking and, while managing to keep up with all the work on the current site, the new public website is taking shape. We will have a navigable, responsive, ADA compliant site that will be a big improvement for our customers.
Q: How does your position interrelate with other departments of JPL and COJ?
All staffs are welcome to attend our classes, schedule appointments, and use our help sheets and start guides to assist themselves and customers using the services we provide. It is increasingly important for public service staff to assist customers in using our downloadable media services and apps, help them connect to our Wi-Fi, and so on. It is also important that staff refer more complex or time consuming questions to E-Services. If a customer needs individual attention or more time than can be given on a busy reference desk, the open lab or an appointment get them the service they need.
The information available on both the public website and the Neighborhood is invaluable to customers and staff. The website is visited millions of times over the course of a year so its value really can’t be overstated.
Q: Did you have previous professional experience prior to coming to JPL?
I worked as a Law Librarian in Los Angeles after I graduated from UCLA. After my husband and I moved from LA to Jacksonville, I spent nine years working in IT installing, maintaining, and supporting Windows and Novell networks, conducting training on network administration and desktop applications and supporting accounting and document management programs popular at the time.
Q: Is there new technology on the horizon that your department will soon add to help employees and/or customers?
Q: Would you share something about yourself that most of us don't know?
A: Most people don’t know that I paint-- watercolor almost exclusively. Here is a photo of one of my watercolors and a photo of me on a cruise ship vacation “pretending” to be the
ship’s reference librarian. 
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*Scroll down (3rd article below) and see the article about Justin Keiser's trip to the Consumer's Electronic Show in Las Vegas.
*Scroll down (3rd article below) and see the article about Justin Keiser's trip to the Consumer's Electronic Show in Las Vegas.
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