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.
Jacquelyn Whiting is a Google Certified Innovator because the fifth time’s the charm. She is dual certified in social studies and library media because the world is interdisciplinary by default. Now, in the middle of her 26th year as an educator she has accumulated multiple degrees, multiple certifications, multiple microcredentials all punctuated with multiple rejections and failures because learning requires getting out of her comfort zone. She is a local activator for Future Design School because side gigs fuel passion. You can follow her on Twitter @MsJWhiting.
Michelle Luhtala is Library Department Chair at New Canaan High School in New Canaan, Connecticut. She facilitates an online learning community for nearly 12,000 library and educational technology professionals at edWeb.net/emergingtech, where she has hosted over 80 webinars since 2010. She is an adjunct instructor in the Masters of Information Program at Rutgers University’ s School of Communication and in the Information and Library Science Department at Southern Connecticut State University and is also a contributing author to Libraries Unlimited’s Growing Schools: Librarians as Professional Developers. The American Association of School Librarians distinguished her as Curriculum Champion in 2017. You can follow her on Twitter @mluhtala.
Troy A. Swanson is Teaching & Learning Librarian and Library Department Chair at Moraine Valley Community College. Troy is the author or editor of several books and articles including co-editor of Not Just Where to Click: Teaching Students How to Think About Information which received the Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award from ARCL’s Instruction Section. You can follow him on Twitter @T_Swanson.
Mark Ramsey is a podcast producer, media strategist and writer. He is the writer, producer, and host of the podcast series Inside Star Wars, Inside Jaws, Inside the Exorcist, and Inside Psycho. As the head of Mark Ramsey Media, he is a media strategist and consultant who has written several books and has worked in radio and television.
Troy A. Swanson is Teaching & Learning Librarian and Library Department Chair at Moraine Valley Community College. Troy is the author or editor of several books and articles including co-editor of Not Just Where to Click: Teaching Students How to Think About Information which received the Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award from ARCL’s Instruction Section.
Tim Smyth, MS Reading Specialist, has been teaching social studies at Wissahickon High School in Pennsylvania since 2001 and travels the United States giving professional development on the use of comics in education. His presentations and workshops have been given at numerous comic book conventions (including San Diego Comic Con), museums, universities, schools, and educational conferences on both state and national levels. His teacher guides and articles, which focus on the integration of comics and the classroom, have been published by many notable organizations including MacMillan and PBS. Smyth maintains a comprehensive website at historycomics.net that shares many resources for educators around the world.
Thomas Maluck is a teen services librarian at Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina with an MLIS from the University of South Carolina. He served on YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens committee for its 2014 and 2015 lists and has presented about teen programming and collections at various library and pop culture conventions. When he’s not reading as a juror for book awards, he reviews and promotes for No Flying, No Tights, reviews and edits for Do You Even Comic Book, and co-hosts a podcast about comics and libraries, The Secret Stacks. A member of the library’s anime club gave him a Star Build Strike Gundam, the most prestigious award in teen librarianship.
History teachers are reading teachers. English teachers are history teachers. We are humanities – help one another. We annotate poems and more in my history class. Close read. Textual evidence. Create original WWI poems. Use of simile. Art. @ncte@NCSSNetworkpic.twitter.com/rhNnCFsvcM
— Tim Smyth 🔜 NYCC then NCTE (@historycomics) March 5, 2019
This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Mometrix. Through their eLibrary portal, Mometrix offers study guides and practice questions for over 1800 different exams covering college entrance, graduate school, nursing, medical, teacher certification, civil service, and many other careers or fields of study, all fully customizable and at a fraction of the cost of printed books. It’s like having an entire library of test prep materials…. all at your fingertips. So, save space, save paper, and save money; with Mometrix eLibrary. To learn more, visit GOeLibrary.com and use promo code PODCAST to get a free demo and save 10% on your first purchase.
Gwyneth Stupar is an Adult Services Librarian at the Barrington Area Library. Gwyneth received her Masters in Library and Information Science from Dominican University in 2006, and currently serves on the board of the LACONI (Library Administrators Conference of Northern Illinois)technology section. Gwyneth’s favorite quote? “No matter how successful you become, someone always helps you.” Check out her website at http://www.gwynethstupar.com or @gwynonite on Twitter.
Barbara Alvarez has been working libraries for 4 years. She received her Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign in May 2012. Currently she is the Resource Guide Coordinator for iREAD Committee through ILA, is completing Synergy, a grant-funded leadership opportunity through the Illinois State Library and ILMS, and writes regularly for Public Libraries Online. Stay in touch at barbaralvarez.com and @the_barbrarian.
Leah White is the Head of Popular Materials at the Ela Area Public Library in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago and the author of The Library Innovation Toolkit. She graduated from Dominican University with her MLIS in 2008 and won the Library Journal Movers & Shakers Award in 2012 for her work on building community engagement. You can find her on Twitter: @leahlibrarian or check out her website: www.leahlwhite.com.
John Chrastka is executive director of EveryLibrary, the first nationwide political action committee for libraries. A long-time library trustee, supporter and advocate, Mr. Chrastka is a member and former president of the Board of Trustees for the Berwyn (IL) Public Library (2006 – present) and is a former president of the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS) multi-type library system. Prior to his work on EveryLibrary, he was a partner in AssociaDirect, a Chicago-based consultancy focused on supporting associations in membership recruitment, conference, and governance activities, and was Director for Membership Development at the American Library Association (ALA). He is a current member of ALA, the Illinois Library Association (ILA), and the American Political Sciences Association (APSA). He was named a 2014 Mover & Shaker by Library Journal for his work with EveryLibrary. He tweets at @mrchrastka.
The Rapid Response Fund is a project of EveryLibrary to build the financial resources that libraries need for crisis communications. Every month, we see stories about libraries faced with an unexpected funding crisis that comes from ‘outside’. City Councils, County Governments, State Legislatures control the purse strings for many of our libraries. But when grassroots support for the library needs to kick-in, the hardest part for libraries and advocates is to reach their constituents in a fast and actionable way. Our Rapid Response Fund will be there to deliver paid advertising and outreach support for local library advocacy “calls to action” when an unexpected crisis hits. Your donation will go to work buying targeted, smart, and effective public engagement through Facebook, Google AdWords, and local media sites. The Rapid Response Fund will put money to work to get the advocacy message in front of the right people and “bring them out” for the library. Donate today. The funds we collect here are earmarked and designated for this project. Visit http://everylibrary.org/rapid-response-fund/ for more about the project.
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