Jackie Cornette is manager of the Western Branch of the Watauga County Library (WCL) in North Carolina. WCL is one of three county library systems that comprise the Appalachian Regional Library (ARL), headquartered in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. According to Louise Humphrey, ARL director, Cornette has been a shining star in ARL since 1988. She is a leader, a risk taker, and an explorer of uncharted waters. It is that set of qualities and attitudes, and the really great work she has done with them, that made her the "Library Journal" Paraprofessional of the Year for 2007. Cornette instituted a Teen Reader program that brought dozens of hard-to-reach adolescents to the library. That program is still growing, and she constantly thinks up new ways to attract the teens and others in Watauga County. She decided her branch would be the first library in ARL to lend laptop computers so students and seniors alike can use them anywhere they want for a few days. She also brought gaming to the library and presides over a flourishing circulation in both Play Station games and hardware so gamers can play there, too. One day a week, she takes the library van and hits the road. She visits daycare centers, schools, nursing homes, and homebound folks all over the county. On those trips, she shows movies, tells stories, and leaves books at her stops along the way. She even performs an occasional puppet show for kids and adults. Her creativity is not hampered by lack of funds. She is a natural fundraiser and has an incredible talent for acquiring what the library needs when it is needed.