255: ALA Presidential Candidates (2024)

March 11, 2024 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with Sam Helmick and Ray Pun, the 2024 candidates for the President of the American Library Association, about why they want the role, how the profession can live up to its diversity goals, how they would help make the organization more attractive to new and prospective members, and whether libraries are (or ever can be) neutral.

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Sam Helmick is the Community & Access Services Coordinator at Iowa City Public Library, immediate Past President of the Iowa Library Association, and the current ILA Government Affairs chair. Helmick is a current member of the ALA Executive Board and previously served as chair-elect on the Freedom to Read Foundation as well as chair of the Iowa Governor’s Commission of Libraries. They have served on committees for the Network of the National Library of Medicine, the Stonewall Book Awards, the ALA Policy Monitoring Committee, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Michael L. Printz Committee, on the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Sophie Brody Award Committee and on the YALSA Fundraising Task Force. Helmick is a 2017 Emerging Leader as well as an author, consultant, and instructor for management, social media marketing, and graphic design.

Dr. Ray Pun (he/him) is an ALA Presidential candidate for 2025-2026. Pun is the academic and research librarian at the Alder Graduate School of Education, a teacher residency program in California, where he supports graduate students, teachers, and teacher educators. Pun previously worked as librarian at The New York Public Library, New York University Shanghai, Fresno State, and Stanford University. An active member of the American Library Association, Pun is also a member of several library groups such as the American Indian Library Association (AILA), the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), and REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. From 2021-2022, Pun served as President of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and from 2022-2023, Pun served as President of the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA). Pun holds an Ed.D. from Fresno State, a Master of Library Science from the City University of New York – Queens College, a Master of Arts in East Asian Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from St. John’s University. Learn more about Dr. Ray Pun at https://www.raypun.info.

SHOW NOTES:

Sam’s campaign site
Ray’s campaign site

Recirculated: Tracie D. Hall

December 11, 2023December 10, 2023 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

In June 2021, Steve chatted with Tracie D. Hall, then-Executive Director of the American Library Association, about her path to librarianship, her role as ALA’s Executive Director, what ALA has done and can do for library workers, libraries working for social justice, and accepting ourselves as members of the human race. Hall resigned from the Executive Director position in October 2023.

Read the transcript!

Tracie D. Hall was the American Library Association’s 10th executive director in its 143-year history, and the first African American female in the role. She resigned in October 2023. Her work in library and arts administration has been recognized with the National Book Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and by Time magazine. Hall was the 2023 recipient of the medal for Freedom of Speech and Free Expression by the Franklin D Roosevelt Institute.

SHOW NOTES:

“Executive Director Tracie D. Hall to Depart from the American Library Association”
“No Quiet in the Library”
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237: ALA Presidential Candidates (2023)

March 19, 2023May 1, 2023 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Steve chats with the 2023 candidates for President of the American Library Association, Cindy Hohl and Eric D. Suess, about why they want the role, creating safe and equitable environments for library workers and patrons, neutrality, and how new members can find their way in the Association.

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Cindy Hohl is past president of the American Indian Library Association and is an active member of other ALA affiliates, including the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, Black Caucus of ALA, Chinese American Librarians Association and REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. As a member of the Public Library Association, a division of ALA, she currently co-chairs the Membership Advisory Group, and was a member of the PLA Strategic Plan Review Team. Hohl is also a member of several round tables: Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT), Library Research Round Table (LRRT), and Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT). Hohl holds a Bachelor of Science in Organization Management and Leadership from Friends University, a Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Baker University.

Eric D. Suess is the Director of the Marshall Public Library in Pocatello, Idaho. He has been active in ALA for thirty-five years, including twelve years as a Councilor At-Large, where he was involved in several council committees, including the Policy Monitoring Committee, Committee on Legislation and the Committee on Organization. He is currently a member of the following ALA divisions: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), Core, PLA and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). He also belongs to several round tables, including International Relations Round Table (IRRT), IFRT, Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) and Games and Gaming Round Table (GAMERT). He is an active member of the Idaho Library Association, a chapter of ALA, where he previously chaired its Intellectual Freedom Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Michigan. His wife Karen works with special needs students at Pocatello High School. When not at work, Eric is usually acting in or directing community theater productions. He is currently playing George in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”.

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218: ALA Presidential Candidates (2022)

March 7, 2022May 1, 2023 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with the 2022 candidates for President of the American Library Association: Emily Drabinski, Critical Pedagogy Librarian and Interim Chief Librarian at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Kelvin Watson, executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.

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Emily Drabinski is Critical Pedagogy Librarian and Interim Chief Librarian at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She has been an academic librarian for two decades, publishing and presenting widely on the politics of knowledge organization and the importance of organized labor in the library workplace.

Kelvin Watson is the executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, oversees 25 branches spanning 8,000 square miles, a budget of $77 million, 700 employees, and a collection of 3.2 million items. The Library District is a vibrant and vital member of the community offering limitless learning; business and career advancement; and government and social services support.

Mr. Watson joined the Library District from his role as the director of the Broward County Libraries Division, where he managed 700+ full-time employees and a budget of more than $70 million. The Broward County library system serves 1.9 million people through 38 locations in the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida region.

Regarded as one of the most highly respected thought leaders in the library industry, he is credited with expanding his customer base in past library management roles, through outreach efforts to underserved and diverse populations. His deep experience in fundraising, technology, program development, plus his demonstrated success in addressing the digital divide, will help the Library District to further expand its role as a free educational resource for all residents. A current example of this is a partnership with the Regional Transit Commission of Southern Nevada to provide a library app to bus riders using on-board WiFi. This program introduces the library to thousands of potential new customers who may have had no previous library interaction.

SHOW NOTES:
Subscribe (FREE!) to the Circulating Ideas newsletter!
Emily Drabinski campaign site
Kelvin Watson campaign site

200: ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall

June 1, 2021May 2, 2023 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Steve chats with Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director of the American Library Association, about her path to librarianship, her role as ALA’s Executive Director, what ALA has done and can do for library workers, libraries working for social justice, and accepting ourselves as members of the human race.

In February 2020, Tracie D. Hall was appointed the American Library Association’s 10th executive director in its 143-year history. In her new role, Hall oversees the oldest and largest library association in the world, made up of 57,000 members and more than 200 staffers. Hall is the first female African American executive director in ALA’s history.

Upon Hall’s appointment ALA President Wanda K. Brown observed that “Her unique combination of philanthropy and library know-how position her to be the leader ALA needs today. She is optimistic, energizing, and innovative, qualities that will serve the association well as it continues its investments in advocacy, development, and information technology.” Hall is no stranger to libraries, or to ALA. Over the years she has worked at the Seattle Public Library, the New Haven Free Public Library, Hartford Public Library, and Queens Library. In 1998, she was among the first cohort of ALA’s Spectrum Scholars, a grant program to diversify librarianship, and she served as the director of ALA’s Office for Diversity in the early 2000s and has served on advisory councils for the Institute of Museum and Library Services and written for the field’s major publications. She was highlighted as a “Mover and Shaker” in the field by Library Journal early in her career. Most recently, Hall directed the culture portfolio at the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, developing new grant programs designed to foster greater equity and diversity in arts administration, catalyze and scale neighborhood-based arts venues, cultural programming and creative entrepreneurship. Prior to that she worked as Deputy Commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and as community investment strategist in Global Corporate Citizenship at The Boeing Company. A civic leader in Chicago, Hall was appointed to serve on the City of Chicago’s Cultural Advisory Council at the beginning of 2020. Hall has also served in multiple roles in academia, including as assistant dean of Dominican’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science in River Forest, IL and as visiting professor at Wesleyan, Southern Connecticut State, and Catholic Universities among others. In addition to her MLIS from the Information School at the University of Washington, Hall holds an MA in International and Area studies with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa from Yale University and dual bachelor’s degrees in Law and Society and Black Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Hall has also studied at the Universities of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in East Africa. Hall was born and raised in Los Angeles.

Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.

SHOW NOTES:

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197: ALA Presidential Candidates (2021)

March 2, 2021April 4, 2023 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Steve chats with the three 2021 candidates for American Library Association President: Stacey Aldrich, Ed Garcia, and Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada.

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Stacey Aldrich has more than 20 years of library experience, and is currently the State Librarian of Hawaii. Prior to Hawaii, she served as the Deputy Secretary for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries in Pennsylvania and State Librarian of California. Stacey has also worked in public and academic libraries. In between, she took a detour to work as a Senior Associate at the futuring think tank of Coates & Jarratt, Inc., where she began to sharpen her futurist thinking skills. She was selected as a Mover and Shaker in the 2003 Library Journal Annual Movers and Shakers edition, and she received a LINK AMERICAS Foundation Knowledge Award for vision and leadership in the area of Digital Literacy in 2012. Always curious and always learning, she believes we all should have a little futurist in us so that we can create our preferred futures. Visit her Instagram to learn more about her campaign.

Ed Garcia is the Library Director at the Cranston Public Library in Cranston, RI, a position he has held since 2012. Ed is a proud graduate of the University of Rhode Island and received his MLIS in 2008. He is currently serving as a member of the Executive Board of the American Library Association and is a 3 term Councilor-at-Large on the ALA Council. He is a former ALA Emerging Leader (2010) and Library Journal Mover & Shaker (2010). Ed is very involved in library advocacy and is the current Legislative Action Chair for the Rhode Island Library Association. He is happily married with 16 year old twin sons. To learn more about his candidacy for ALA President visit www.edforala.com.

Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada is the Adult Services Assistant Manager at the Palos Verdes Library District in Southern California. She serves as the Executive Director and is a Past President of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA). Much of her professional work focuses on services to youth and promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in libraries, librarianship, and her local community. She lives in San Pedro, California with her poet husband, Chrisitan Hanz Lozada and their menagerie of pets. Find out more about Lessa and her vision for ALA at lessaforlibraries.com.

169: Amie Wright

October 29, 2019May 2, 2023 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Guest host Matthew Murray chats with Amie Wright, President of the American Library Association’s newly formed Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table, about her path to librarianship, coming back to comics as an adult reader, working in NYC to connect libraries and schools, and the work of the GNCRT.

Amie Wright is a Public History Graduate student at Concordia studying how educators use comics books and graphic novels to teach history; formerly, she was the Manager of School Outreach at the New York Public Library and has more than 15+ years experience in Canadian and US libraries. A recipient of Library Journal’s Mover and Shaker Award in 2017, Amie is the first President of the American Library Association’s newly formed Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table. Follow Amie @librarylandia for the ongoing tales of a nomadic comics librarian/historian-in-training.

Matthew Murray is just about to complete a one-year contract as a Research & Scholarship Librarian at the University of Guelph. He is co-host of Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcast, editor for Two-Fisted Library Stories, and a Member-at-Large on the board of ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table. You can find him on Twitter @MidniteLibrary.

161: Grady Hendrix and Becky Spratford

July 9, 2019May 4, 2023 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Steve chats with bestselling horror author Grady Hendrix and Readers’ Advisory Specialist Becky Spratford about how Grady grew up with libraries, the legitimacy of genre fiction, lessons learned from Stephen King, and the Summer Scares program.

Grady Hendrix is a best selling author whose novels include Horrorstör, My Best Friend’s Exorcism – which he describes as “basically Beaches meets The Exorcist” — and most recently, We Sold Our Souls. He’s also the author of the Bram Stoker Award winning, Paperbacks from Hell, a history of the horror paperback boom of the ’70s and ’80s, and Mohawk, a horror movie about the War of 1812.

Becky Spratford is a Readers’ Advisory Specialist in northern, IL. She trains library workers all over the world on how to help leisure readers in the public library. Becky runs the popular and critically acclaimed RA training site RA for All and its evil twin, RA for All: Horror. She is a regular contributor to Booklist, EBSCO’s NoveList database, and Library Journal. Becky is the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2nd edition [ALA Editions, 2012] and is currently at work on the 3rd Edition. She is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association, whose membership recently elected her Secretary. You can connect with Becky on Twitter @RAforAll.

SHOW NOTES:

Summer Scares FAQ / Resource List
Ladies of the Fright

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155: Ann Ewbank

April 16, 2019May 4, 2023 ~ circideas ~ Leave a comment

Steve chats with Ann Ewbank, and author of Political Advocacy for School Librarians: Leveraging Your Influence, about her path to librarianship, why political advocacy is essential for school librarians, the importance of building relationships with stakeholders, and her time as an inaugural member of the ALA Policy Corps.

Ann Dutton Ewbank, PhD, is associate professor at Montana State University, Bozeman. She researches school library advocacy and is a member-leader in the American Library Association (ALA). A tireless advocate, Ewbank has direct experience working with elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels to enact positive policy for school library programs.

Political Advocacy for School Librarians

152: ALA Presidential Candidates (2019)

March 5, 2019April 4, 2023 ~ circideas ~ 1 Comment

Steve chats with Julius Jefferson and Lance Werner, the two 2019 candidates for President of the American Library Association, about why they want to be President, how to promote and advocate for more diversity and inclusion in the profession, how the association can be more open to virtual participation, and why libraries are still important in the 21st century.

Read the transcript.

*Julius Jefferson (l.), Lance Werner (r.)*

An active member of ALA for 15 years, Julius Jefferson currently serves on and has been a member of the ALA Council since 2011, and most recently completed a 3-year term on the ALA Executive Board (2015-18). He has also served on a number of critical committees, including the Finance and Audit Committee (2017-18), the Budget Analysis and Review Committee (2014-18), the Intellectual Freedom Committee (2010-14) serving as the 2010-11 chair, and is currently chair of the Chapter Relations Committee, as well as on numerous other committees and task forces of the association. He is co- editor of The 21st-Century Black Librarian in America: Issues and Challenges and is often sought as a speaker on library-related issues such as diversity, leadership and professional development. Jefferson holds a BA in History from Howard University and an MLS from the University of Maryland.

Julius Jefferson campaign site

Lance Werner has served as Executive Director for Kent District Library since 2011. He received a juris doctorate degree from Michigan State University’s College of Law and his master’s degree in Library Science from Wayne State University (WSU). In 2018, he was chosen as Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year, and in years past, he was the recipient of the Joey Rodger Leadership Award from the Urban Libraries Council, Librarian of the Year Award from the Michigan Library Association (MLA), the WSU Distinguished Alumni award, and Library Journal’s Mover and Shaker Award. Lance is currently involved in the ALA Policy Corps, WSU’s Capital Campaign, MLA’s Legislative Committee, and has just graduated from Michigan Political Leadership Course.

Lance Werner campaign site