Library Journal and School Library Journal are pleased to announce the return of the Public Library Youth Services Leadership Summit after a two-year hiatus. The in-person event will take place on March 30th & 31st, at the Broward County Main Library in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The day-and-half event will address both the issues confronting our profession and the myriad opportunities to create and support community wherever we work. The packed program includes panels and speakers on a broad range of topics including:censorship, equity in summer learning, nontraditional outreach and partnerships, LGBTQIA+ programmingand services, trauma-informed services, graphic novels and audiobooks, andinnovative programming for preschoolers. For more information, and to register, visit our dedicated webpage. |
Matteo Farinella received a PhD in neuroscience from University College London in 2013. Since then he has been combining his scientific expertise with a lifelong passion for drawing. Matteo is the author of Neurocomic (Nobrow, 2013) and other comics, illustrations, and animations for children and adults. As a Columbia University Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience (2016–2019), he studied the role of comics in science communication and their potential for increasing scientific literacy. In 2019, Matteo joined Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute as a scientific multimedia producer. |
María de Monservat Aguilar is a Dedicated Community Outreach Specialist with the Central Arkansas Library System. She has extensive experience in community affairs, public relations, community development, and educational engagement. María has worked with varied demographics and cultural groups, seeking to elevate the social and educational status of the communities she engages with. She has been a voice for Latine culture in her community. |
Robin Brenner is a teen librarian at the Public Library of Brookline in Massachusetts. She is an active member of YALSA and has served on awards committees including the Michael L. Printz Award, Margaret A. Edwards Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. She is the editor-in-chief of the graphic novel review website No Flying No Tights. |
Jen Cousins is the mother of four public school kids in Orlando, Florida, and a fierce advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights. In 2021, she cofounded the grassroots Florida Freedom to Read Project to combat censorship in her school district. The Florida Freedom to Read Project grew rapidly and has since has collaborated with a number of national groups including PEN America, EveryLibrary, We Need Diverse Books, and FReadom Fighters. Jen has testified before U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on the impact of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and was recently named one of the 11th Annual LGBT+ Center Diversity Award honorees. |
Pamela Archer Hamlin is the Family Literacy Specialist for the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (MD). For almost thirty years, Pam has worked in the early education field as an early childhood educator and administrator, teen parent resource and referral counselor, teacher/child care provider educator, and librarian. Currently, she works for the effective execution of library programs and services in support of children under the age of five and their caregivers. Pam was a member of the Association for Library Service to Children’s (ALSC) 2019 Newbery Book Award Committee, and previously served on its Early Childhood Services and Programs Committee. |
LaKesha Kimbrough is a certified Healing Centered Engagement practitioner and founder of LK Consulting & Coaching (LKCC). She has engaged in facilitation work since 2012, leading and co-leading workshops and trainings that center healing and liberation. In 2020 she founded LKCC to deepen her commitment to supporting individuals and organizations on their journeys of transformation. Her background working in education, supporting children, youth, young people, and their caregivers from birth through college as well as her study in social science with concentrations in history, political science and human development have gifted her the opportunity to work with a diverse array of communities and to do so in ways that honor where we have been, where we are, and where we hope to be. |
Since coming to the Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS), Marlon Moore he has helped develop system-wide library initiatives including adult computer classes, robotics programs, drone education classes, immersive spatial computing technology, and college and career opportunities for students. Marlon has contributed to a number of award-winning programs including recipients of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Awards; a 2019 FLA Library Innovation Award; and the 2020 Urban Libraries Council National Top Innovator Award. He is a proponent of creating innovative ways to connect the community to the library as well as educating at-risk teens through the use of music, fine arts, dance, multimedia production, and STEAM programming. |
Matthew Noe (he/him) is Lead Collection & Knowledge Management Librarian at Countway Library, Harvard Medical School, and a part-time instructor at the University of Kentucky in the School of Information Science. He is well known for his work in comics librarianship, health sciences librarianship, and in particular, graphic medicine. Matthew was the 2021-2022 President of ALA’s Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table. He is a founding board member, website editor, and treasurer for the Graphic Medicine International Collective. You'll find Matthew’s comics reviews in both Booklist and Diamond Bookshelf. |
Jenna Spiering, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Science at the University of South Carolina. Her research focuses on children’s and young adult literature, and specifically graphic novels and issues of censorship and selection of LGBTQIA+ materials. Jenna’s recent publications have appeared in Study and Scrutiny: Research in Young Adult Literature, The International Journal of Young Adult Literature, and School Libraries Worldwide. |
Rebecca Tolley is an academic librarian whose book A Trauma-Informed Approach to Library Services has guided public, school, and academic libraries, as well as consortia and professional library associations in awareness, advocacy, and adoption of the trauma-informed care framework. She publishes and presents on topics such as empathy, grief, cognitive blinders, and boundaries, and on self-care in libraries for library workers. |
Know someone who would love this event? Forward this email and invite them to join us! |
If you are a service provider or publisher and would like to sponsor the event, please contact Advertising Director Roy Futterman. |
| Can't attend this year's Public Library Youth Services Leadership Summit? Click here to be unsubscribed from any 2023 Public Library Youth Services Leadership Summit communication. |
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