Aw shucks, you all are really too kind. I don’t deserve this. Well, maybe I sorta do. So I’m Dave LaCrone y’all and 2008 pretty much rocked my world. I’m going to take this opportunity to brag about it. And Joshua Neff is going to give me that really cool S&M pin.

Speaking of which, I have the privilege of working at a Library on a team of seven (count ‘em, seven!) people who work on web initiatives. I am all too aware of what a rarity that is, even more so when they are all such fabulous co-workers.

This award would not have been possible without them.

I work mostly on a collaborative county historical web site that houses photos, articles and other resources about the history of Johnson County, Kansas. I maintain the site, catalog photos and keep the six partner institutions informed.

In 2008 I added over 20,000 images to the photo database. I wrote and received a $38,000 grant from the county to provide a complete index of cemeteries online to genealogists via the site. I have also nearly completed a complete site redesign which will reveal itself in mere weeks. This year the Library started twittering and I’m very proud to be one of the folks behind the scenes there. Of course, the uninhibited me is also on twitter.

I’ve also provided a number of public presentations about JoCoHistory and served as a resource for people looking to develop similar sites.

It’s been a productive and fun year. I hope to be a more active blogger this year and hopefully do a little more networking with like-minded librarians. Yay!