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Jerry Blaisdell Municipal Leader Award
Chris Accardo
Drew Springer, Chris Accardo, Marsha Brown
I
f you’ve visited the Weatherford Public Library, you
are probably already a big fan of Chris Accardo,
Weatherford’s Director of Library Services. While his
career began as a high school teacher, he didn’t feel
fulfilled; so when a friend mentioned continuing their
education and studying library science, he looked into it
and found the position completely aligned with his skills
and interests.
“There are several different career paths for librar-
ians — academic, corporate, law, medical, etc. — but
the one that really resonated with me was public librar-
ies. We serve all ages, interests, and income levels, and
help make our communities better places to live,” said
Accardo. While the Weatherford Library is quite busy, one
of the challenges to municipal libraries is getting the word
out about what they do. “Some people think that the only
thing a library does is check out books, and [they] miss
out on the array of services we have available,” he contin-
ued.
Accardo is also a great community volunteer and has
been a part of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Parker
County. “The kids and families CACPC serves have been
subjected to some of the most horrific abuse imaginable
— often from the very people who should be taking care
of them — and to play my small part in their recovery
process is immensely fulfilling,” he shared. He’s also very
active in his profession and is a member of the Texas
Library Association, the Public Library Administrators of
North Texas, and the Texas Municipal Library Directors
Association. In 2016, he was honored as the Texas Library
Association’s Librarian of the Year. He also serves the
community locally as the system administrator of the
Parker County Library Association.
“We have our own homegrown consortium of public
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libraries, the Parker County Library Association, which
I helped organize and for which I currently serve as
system administrator. I serve as the Auditor and Selection
Committee Chair for the North Texas Libraries on the Go
Consortium, which provides downloadable eBooks and
eAudiobooks to 30 member libraries across the region,”
he added.
When asked what his favorite book or movie was
about librarians, he answered, “Librarians tend to be
depicted solely as stereotypical ‘shushers’ in pop culture,
but my favorite print depiction of a librarian is in Terry
Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ series, where the librarian at a
magical university has been transformed into an orang-
utan. PBS aired a documentary called ‘Ex Libris’ about the
New York Public Library a while back that was fantastic.
There is a movie that just came out last week called ‘The
Public’ that was written and directed by Emilio Estevez.
It is about a large public library faced with a severe cold
front, and the library’s relationship to the homeless and
mentally ill citizens who turn there as a place of refuge.
Based on what I’ve been hearing about the movie from
other librarians, I have a feeling it will be my new favorite
library movie once I manage to see it.” He would like
the title to his own autobiography to be “Shameless Self-
Promotion.”
He points to his parents as his role models. His father
was a coach and later a high school principal and Chris
said all he learned about leadership comes from his dad.
When his dad changed careers, his mother worked the
first of two successful businesses to make ends meet.
“Together, they always set an amazing example of how
to adapt and overcome rough times, and to this day I still
turn to them for advice. When life pitches you a lemon,
knock it out of the park,” he said.