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Robert Karatsu is the Library Director for Rancho Cucamonga Library Services. His first professional job out of library school (and this is probably the only thing remotely interesting about him) was as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Fiji. Between the beaches and coconut trees and learning how to speak Hindi and Fijian, he even found time revolutionize library services in the South Pacific. (Not…) After returning to the United States, he worked as a research librarian for the Western Costume Company in Hollywood, doing research for costume designers on what people wore for different movies and TV shows. (One nice side benefit of this job was meeting a number of celebrities who liked to do their own research as they “got into character” as they called it.)Robert eventually found his niche in public libraries.  He has also taught an ancient art (“reference”) for 10 years in the San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Sciences.  He was a participant in the first Stanford University’s Institute on 21st Century Librarianship in 2000, has been a Eureka Leadership Institute mentor in 2011 and 2012, and is absolutely thrilled that his library is currently a finalist for the Institute for Museum and Library Services’ National Medal for 2013.