9/1 Speakers

William Adamczyk is the Director of the Milton Public Library, a busy library in a vibrant suburb of Boston. Will has been active in the Massachusetts library community, serving as the president of both the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) and the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA). Currently, he is a co-chair of the MLA Legislative Committee and is focused on building advocacy efforts for libraries from the local to the federal level. Will also served three terms as a library trustee in his home town of Abington, MA.

Sessions:

• Urban & Suburban Branch Libraries - How Each Responded to the Pandemic & Continued to Serve its Community

Christy Billings is currently working in the Information Services and Adult Learning Department at Russell Library in Middletown, CT and is the Junior Director for the New England Library Association. Christy Billings has worked in libraries 10+ years. She is the program coordinator of a weekly Career Group and holds weekly practice interviews to help prepare people to find work. Christy leads a variety of book discussion groups including Books and Brews, and Book Yak on a Kayak. She is also one of two leaders for The Russell Library Veterans Writing Group. Christy loves to hear people say, "I didn't know libraries do that," as a response to some of the programs and services that libraries offer.

Sessions:

• Choose Your Own Adventure...Job Seeking In A Post-Pandemic World

Max Bowman is the Assistant Director for Public Services for Colby College Libraries. In this role they lead a great group of colleagues who are responsible for many of the libraries' most essential services, including staffing service points, stacks maintenance, and resource sharing.  Max has worked in academic libraries for over 20 years, 17 of which preceded earning their MLS degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Their varied experiences working in staff roles, primarily in technical services, encouraged them to seek out positions that offered opportunities to lead, particularly in areas where labor is consistently devalued. Their research and general interests include knowledge sharing, peer support, staff morale, ILL, and celebrating their colleagues.

Sessions:

• Leading With Compassion: Prioritizing Self-Care for Library Staff

Michael Colford is the Director of Library Services at the Boston Public Library.  With over thirty years in libraries and over eighteen years in library administration, Michael has a public service outlook with a technical services and collections background. The Library Services Division includes Branch services, Public services, Digital services, Reference & Instruction, Literacy Services, Programs, Outreach, Youth Services, and Borrower Services.  His current interests include serving communities in an urban environment and maximizing discovery capabilities for library users.

Sessions:

• Urban & Suburban Branch Libraries - How Each Responded to the Pandemic & Continued to Serve its Community

Sharon just completed her Ph.D. in Learning Sciences and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh.  Before embarking on this academic adventure, she was a youth services librarian in MA and VT.  She misses working with kids but really wants to help advocate and support youth services librarians.  Now that she has the letters after her name, she's ready for her microphone.  Sharon is now an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Sessions:

• Are Youth Services Librarians Overworked Heroes?

Catherine Damiani (she/hers) is the Library Director at Tiverton Public Library (RI). Prior to working in Tiverton, she was the Head of Reference/Digital Services at East Providence Public Library (RI). Catherine holds an MLIS, an MPA, and a human resources certificate from the University of Rhode Island. She currently serves as an ALA Councilor-at-Large (2021-2024) and is studying for her SHRM-CP certification.

Sessions:

• ALA Councilors' Forum

John DeSantis has worked as a Cataloging and Metadata Services Librarian and subject bibliographer at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire since 1995.  He is currently the Interim Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services.  He has been active in the American Library Association, having served on both the ALCTS Subject Analysis Committee and the Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access.  He has served on numerous other ALA committees, and has also been an elected member of the ALA Council since 2004. He has also served on the ALA Executive Board.  In 2012 he was the recipient of the New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) Award for Excellence in Library Technical Services.

Sessions:

• ALA Councilors' Forum

Robin E. Eichen has been an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission‚ Northeast Region since December 1990, where she has litigated numerous consumer protection cases, including those involving deceptive advertising, work-at-home scams, business coaching scams, telemarketing fraud, Internet fraud, and deceptive debt collection. In September 2003, she received a Director's Award in recognition of her contributions to the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Ms. Eichen has done numerous outreach presentations to a wide variety of consumer audiences, including senior citizens, students, underserved communities, and military/veterans' groups, as well as small businesses, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In October 2020, she received the Janet D. Steiger Award for her outstanding contributions to the COVID-19 Consumer Impact Response Team.

Sessions:

• The Federal Trade Commission:  Aiding Community Advocates

Lori is the Assistant State Librarian at the New Hampshire State Library, and was previously the director at the Baker Free Library in Bow, NH for 11 years. She is the current ALA Councilor for the NH Library Association, and is an active member of ALA Policy Corps (cohort #2), ALA Committee on Legislation, ALA Committee on Library Advocacy, and the United for Libraries Advocacy Committee. In her spare time, Lori is a yoga and meditation practitioner and instructor, and has led numerous yoga teacher training sessions through YogaNH.

Sessions:

• Advocacy 101 – Stats, Stories, & Stakeholders
• ALA Councilors' Forum

Beth Gallaway is the director at the Grafton (MA) Public Library and has been working and volunteering in libraries for 30 years. She is an online instructor for Infopeople and as an independent library trainer/consultant specializes in infographics, strategic planning, gaming, technology, and youth services. A former YA librarian, she remains a strong teen advocate, and is a YALSA certified Serving the Underserved (SUS) trainer.

Sessions:

• Leading With Compassion: Prioritizing Self-Care for Library Staff

I am the Director of Learning and Teaching Services for the Harvard College Libraries with responsibilities for research, education, and outreach services for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. I am the team lead for the Services for Academic Programs department in Widener and Lamont Libraries which provides research, instruction, orientation, and social sciences data services for students, faculty, and staff across the University.  Currently I serve as a Councilor-at-Large for the American Library Association, and as a member of the Committee on International Relations, the Committee on Committees, and the ALA Policy Corps Advisory Group. I previously served as Division Councilor on Board of Directors for the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and as Chair of the ACRL Politics, Policy, and International Relations Section.  I have a  Ph. D in Managerial Leadership from Simmons University, a Masters in Organization Development and Knowledge Management from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason, and a Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sessions:

• ALA Councilors' Forum

Amy Lappin is the deputy director of the Lebanon Public Libraries, Amy is currently an ALA Councilor-at-large, but served for six years as the NH Chapter Councilor. She is a past chair of the ALA Chapter Relations Committee and was recently appointed as chair of the Transforming ALA Governance (TAG) Task Force. Amy is also the immediate past-president of the New Hampshire Library Association.

Sessions:

• ALA Councilors' Forum

Sindu Meier, AIA Senior Associate, William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc. Sindu is an architect and has managed several of the firm’s library projects, including the City of Cambridge's Valente Branch Library, and the historic Johnson Building transformation of the Central Library at Boston Public Library (2017 Harleston Parker Medal). She currently serves as a Library Trustee for the Town of Milton, MA.

Sessions:

• Urban & Suburban Branch Libraries - How Each Responded to the Pandemic & Continued to Serve its Community

I have been a practicing, professional librarian for 27 years, serving in both public and corporate libraries. I have been in senior management for 14 years.  Equal access is one of my guiding principals, guaranteed by the ALA Bill of Rights, I have worked tirelessly to implement best practices in this arena by adding new language collections, ELL and ESL materials and programs, inclusive library programming, and outreach to people of all ages, origins, and abilities.  I have a wealth of experience leading teams large and small, managing collections, diversifying staff, providing cultural and educational programs, and building community relationships. I am successful when working with Trustees, Town o fficials, fellow Department Heads, LibraryFoundations, Friends groups, staff, and community stakeholders. I excel at maximizing the impact of the Library on the communities we serve.

Sessions:

• Leading With Compassion: Prioritizing Self-Care for Library Staff

My name is Badhan. I am 17 years old and will be a senior at Times Squared Academy this Fall. I have attended numerous programs hosted by the library: Rhode Coders, Data Analytics, and Python learning circle. From Fall 2020 to Spring 2021, I, along with a friend, have helped the library build a manga collection which I’ll be speaking about in the presentation.

Sessions:

• Centering Youth Voice in Library Space & Policies