As a solo librarian I can appreciate what she works with, and what she's done

‘Small-town library with a big heart'

A passionate, small-town librarian is getting a big-city honor for helping show how even a part-time library can help immigrants learn English.

Karla Shafer, director of the Hooper Public Library, is getting an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., next month to tell a national gathering of librarians how even a “one-girl show” in a town of 827 can make a difference.

She was awarded a second $5,000 grant to continue a literacy program she began two years ago to help Hispanic immigrants.

And her program helped persuade backers to extend funding for the national grant program, offered through the American Library Association and the Dollar General Foundation.

The Hooper library is the smallest in the nation to receive the grants. It's open 23 hours a week, and Shafer, 58, is the only regular employee.