Local libraries have come a long way in the past 30 years. Before USC's Cooper library was expanded, it was designated the undergraduate library, and McKissick was the graduate library. Even though the Xerox copy machine had been installed since the mid- '60s, books were still mysteriously missing from McKissick.

An unairconditioned building, McKissick's windows were always unlocked and open most of the time, especially in the restrooms. At night, just before closing, something would fall from a restroom window and land in the bushes below.

The missing books problem is mostly solved with inoperable windows and high- tech book detectors at the front doors. Other problems, though, have come along - the homeless, for instance.

Helen Ann Rawlinson has seen it all. She began working at the Richland County Public Library 31 years ago. She is its director, an interim measure between the recently retired David Warren and his replacement due in July.

Rawlinson grew up in Columbia, beginning on Blossom Street, where her house backed up to Emily Douglas Park. She has a younger sister, Nancy, a retired teacher who lives in Ft. Mill. Their father, the child of Shanghai missionaries, was the director of libraries at USC.

When Rawlinson turned three, her family moved to West Columbia. She attended Brookland Grammar School, and she graduated from Brookland- Cayce High School.

While spending most of her time on academics, Rawlinson stayed active in the Girl Scouts through high school. She attended the last national Girl Scouts Roundup at Farragut, Idaho in the summer before her senior year. That last Roundup attracted 10,000 Girl Scouts.

Rawlinson attended USC, getting stuck with 8 am classes (Monday through Saturday) every semester. She graduated with a major in secondary education, but she decided against a career in education. She chose her father's line of work, and she took his advice when she entered graduate school in library science at Emory University in Decatur, Ga.

Immediately after earning her master's degree, Rawlinson went to work for the Greenville County Library. After several years in Greenville, she returned to Columbia to start work at the 32,000- square- foot RCPL at the corner of Washington Street and Sumter Street. She was hired in December 1978 by director Anna Davis King, formerly the head librarian at Crayton Junior High School.

In 1976, the RCPL was the first public library in the state to join the Southeastern Library Network.

King retired in 1979, and David Warren took the job. Rawlinson worked with Warren in the planning of the new library building at the corner of Assembly Street and Hampton Street. The 242,000- square- foot RCPL was named National Library of the Year in 2001.

Rawlinson's first trip to Europe was in 1970. She was a student, but she managed to scrimp and save to pay her own way. Her favorite urban scene is Bloomsbury, the London neighborhood dominated by the University of London, the British Museum, and the British Library. Fittingly, one of Rawlinson's favorite authors is Virginia Woolf, a member of the Bloomsbury Group.

A serious gardener, Rawlinson's oversized yard is her creation and composition. When she travels, after libraries she enjoys the gardens the most. Kew Gardens outside London is one of her favorites, and bits and pieces of Kew can be found in the Rawlinson yard.