Who’s Awesome! Bethany Banet – September 2026
Bethany Banet, head of technical services/cataloging, is HCPL’s Who’s Awesome winner for September. There were 10 nominations for the honor this month.
Lynn Hardesty, who works with Bethany in technical services, nominated Bethany, writing, “Bethany always goes above and beyond, lending a hand to patrons and coworkers alike. Yesterday she arranged to meet a patron on her (Bethany’s) day off to notarize paperwork for this person when no one else was available to help them when they came in. She is always willing to do what it takes to help others. Even if that means stepping outside the box to get the job done.”
Bethany was also nominated by Director Alisa Burch last month. The nomination read, “Bethany has helped with the daily courier runs since the loss of our head of maintenance. Bethany often pitches in where needed at HCPL, offering to cover a desk and becoming a notary. Bethany is awesome!”
Bethany, who has been with the library for nearly 24 years, was also named the Who’s Awesome winner in April of 2024. She began volunteering for the library in 2002 and joined the staff in December of that year as HCPL’s cataloger. As the library grew, she became head of the technical services department.
Corydon Circulation Clerk Debi Strubler nominated Bethany last December, stating, “Whenever I need something in cataloging, Bethany always has the answer. I always get my answer in record time. I appreciate Bethany.” Bethany received multiple nominations in April 2025 about leaks in the Emporium building. Genealogy Head Kathy Fisher wrote, “When the rains started coming, Bethany noticed a new leak dripping near several boxes of newspaper archives. Using her personal tarps, buckets, and quick action the contents were saved for the day!”
Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in September include: Amanda Applegate, Amanda Embrey, Nancy Kitchen, Shawnda Mosson, Bob Ohlrich, Heather Rapp, Jon Schraffenberger, Trevor Smith, and Brandy Wilkerson.
Article by Alisa Burch, Director
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This collage features a small sampling of the hundreds of photos available online in the 
Dr. Guy D. Baker of Crandall, Indiana (left), and Paul Reynolds of New Albany, Indiana (right) are pictured at the 1947 annual meeting of the Hoosier Fox Hunters Association. The foxhound in the photo belonged to Reynolds and won first place in the derby at the event.
A young Bonnie Eckart (1933-2023) stands for a photograph with her dog Trixie ca. 1938. Bonnie was the daughter of Straude Ray and Myrtle McKim Eckart.
