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Early in her career, Moni Barrette realized patrons had a passion for comic books. “At that time, there was still stigma and a lack of understanding in the library community about the potential that comics had,” she explains, so Barrette moved into comics advocacy.

Jen Park knew the approach libraries usually took toward political advocacy. “We’d go up to the capitol once or twice a year,” she says. “I always felt like we were leaving something out.” 

Until Janet Hyunju Clarke, Associate Dean of Research and Learning at Stony Brook University Libraries, got involved, the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students who make up approximately 40 percent of the school’s population had never had a campus club that was open to anyone (as opposed to only students) or celebration related to their heritage. “We wanted to do something at a campus-wide level to show students that their history and experiences matter,” says Clarke. 

Through her mobile outreach work with the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), adult librarian Amanda Mellor creates vital connections between LAPL and persons experiencing homelessness. It is essential to bring library resources and support directly to them, says Mellor, whose efforts focus on delivering compassionate and responsive services to adults in the city’s Skid Row community.

With COVID, the scaffolding that Gregory developed to support students all but disappeared, and her work shifted to the purely transactional: Check books in, check books out. When the opportunity to join the Illinois Heartland Library System opened, Gregory transitioned from helping students to helping her fellow librarians.

“After COVID, our local newspapers were filled with stories on how teens were struggling. I thought, ‘Why couldn’t we do something for teens?’” says Renee McGrath, manager of youth services for the Nassau Library System, NY. In answer to that question, she envisioned and piloted Teen Calming Corners.

As Director of Donnelly Public Library (DPL), Sherry Scheline stewards a 1,024 square foot space that has become an anchor institution for Donnelly, ID—a town of fewer than 200 people, with a service population of just under 3,000.

“I have been working with virtual reality in my school library since Google Cardboard hit the educational scene in 2016,” Andrea Trudeau says.

Michelle Matthews, community and employee engagement director at Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL), is an Air Force veteran. “As an intelligence specialist,” says Matthews, “I worked with a lot of data and information, but my most valuable piece of service was working with a diversity of people. That taught me to accept people for who they are and where they are”—a lesson she puts into work daily.

As the archivist for San Diego’s Comic Arts Fest, Pamela Jackson curates 100,000 comics and ephemera. That alone would distinguish her, but bigger impact flows from her work at San Diego State University (SDSU). Along with SDSU history professor Elizabeth Pollard, Jackson developed a comics-based curriculum that has students more engaged than ever. 

After graduating from library school, Alejandro Marquez served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador, and the experience still affects his work today. It “really helped broaden my horizons to seeing different cultures and how different people work,” he says, “being empathetic and thinking about the different people out there who need library services and the best way to connect with them.”

When Library Director Natalie Draper started at the Northfield Public Library, she discovered ideas for supporting the community through public engagement sessions. “Something we heard in the engagement that we put into our strategic plan was people needing to feel that sense of belonging in a space,” she says. “A library services community best when the staff reflect the diversity of their community.”

After a $14.9 million bond library expansion referendum failed, Lisa Kropp knew she also needed a way to keep staff morale up. She proposed that the library take on the Sustainable Libraries Initiative certification program, an idea enthusiastically accepted by staff and the library board. Lindenhurst became the third U.S. library to earn the certification. 

Unlike most of his peers, Jason Homer wasn’t a reader as a kid. It wasn’t until freshman year of college, when he hung out in his school library to get away from his triple dorm room, that he “got” libraries. “The more time I spent there, the better I utilized the resources,” he says. “The librarians were really helpful.” After a foray into classroom teaching, Homer realized it wasn’t for him. So, he followed in the footsteps of the librarians who were part of his early-adult memories. 

Thanks to Keloni Parks, a few other adults, and about 17 young library patrons who wrote the verses, the West End Branch of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library has its own anthem: “The Place I Want to Be.”

As director of Suffolk Public Library, Clint Rudy participated in Virginia Library Leadership Academy (VALLA) in 2012, became VALLA coordinator in 2018, and in 2022 led a task force to reimagine and revise the academy. The first task: create a team with “a broad spectrum of experiences in life and careers—members from academic, special, and public libraries and with contacts and networking experience.”

Edra Waterman was working in a community mental health center when she heard about Indiana University’s top-notch MLS program. “My job convinced me that I wanted to be in a field that helped people of all backgrounds and situations,” she recalls. “The ethos of the public library as a welcoming place for everyone clicked with me on a fundamental level.”

Court Stevens, executive director of Warren County Public Library, is a former adjunct professor, youth minister, and bookseller; runs a hobby farm (four dogs, 10 goats, 20-something chickens, and three babydoll sheep); and has written 10 novels. A thread of care, energy, and vision runs through these disparate roles. 

Starting off as a library assistant in circulation at Missoula Public Library (MPL), Selya Avila jumped at the chance to take on a new role that aligned with her values when MPL’s director created the Community Engagement Department. 

As the first bilingual Latine/Hispanic Northfield Public Library employee, Angelica Linder saw an opportunity to help with the local implementation of a new Municipal ID—an alternate form of legal identification that helps people with banking, work, and finding a place to live. She worked with city offices to provide a safe space in the library for those applying for the ID, as well as needed translation services. 

He calls himself an “accidental librarian,” but little of Shamichael Hallman’s work is done without intention. He began his career in ministry and found his way into libraries after discovering the fields had a great deal of overlap. While Senior Library Manager of Memphis Public Libraries’ Cossitt Library, he oversaw a significant building renovation that expanded his thinking about the opportunities public spaces provide in fostering civic engagement. 

Kelli Rae Morning Bull’s lived experiences entwine with her initiatives at Calgary Public Library. “My Blackfoot culture is what drives my passion,” she says. “Sharing it with people can be very impactful.” Morning Bull builds relationships with Indigenous community groups and Elders and designs unique services for Indigenous and non-Indigenous patrons alike. 

The Hive® at Spokane Public Library is an artist’s dream come true—a nontraditional library location centered around arts education and free public event space, and home to four Artist- In-Residence studios, where a rotating group of creators work, teach, and inspire each other and the public. Its success is largely the work of Eva Silverstone, who believes that art in libraries is for everyone—“No admission ticket, no prerequisite, almost no dress code (within reason).” 

“When I was 13, I saw Pulp Fiction,” recalls Joe O’Brien. “Being part of that audience was like no experience I’d ever had. We were like instruments in an orchestra of adrenaline, gasping, laughing, or squirming together.” They knew then they wanted to tell stories for a living. 

“I’ve shaken hundreds of new immigrants’ hands to welcome them to become new citizens,” says Wang-Ying Glasgow, who hosts naturalization ceremonies at the library as one of her many duties leading adult, teen, and children’s programming for Memphis Public Libraries. The ceremonies are joyous affairs, with Glasgow, herself a naturalized citizen, bringing in Opera Memphis to perform the national anthem.

While viewed as the academic backbone of the two universities it serves, the Loyola Notre Dame Library “struggled like so many other libraries to bring patrons back into the building following the pandemic,” says Mallory Wareham. “We also faced the ever-present challenge of showing our patrons that libraries are far more than just a quiet study space.” 

Libraries and education are a natural fit, and Arturo Agüero enhances educators’ connections to library resources and empowers them to teach in new ways. A founding member of the New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools, in 2021 Agüero became the first Manager of Educator Development. 

Dr. Corinthia Price is the founder of “100 High School Students America Needs to Know About,” a recognition program for students throughout the United States. “When I advised students, I noticed that there was no way to recognize ordinary students doing great things,” says Price. Those saluted by her program have included podcasters, entrepreneurs, and an activist who survived the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. 

Mary Ton thinks there’s an ethical place for AI in the arts and humanities. She teaches researchers and students about the benefits and limitations of AI in research and the arts, drawing on her background in machine learning, and has presented on the topic across the state. 

Describing himself as “aggressively helpful,” law librarian Kris Turner combines traditional legal research with the evolving generative AI world. “Generative AI technology worries many, creates skepticism in others, and is eagerly embraced by some,” Turner notes. “This wildly disparate level of welcome for GenAI means I especially need to show I am open to questions, challenges, and counterarguments.”

After 13 years as an English teacher, Jesse Braun had a lightbulb moment: “One day I looked at my wife, who is a librarian and photograph archivist, and I thought...I want to be more like her!” Now Braun not only serves as a school librarian, but also teaches Digital Citizenship and Information Literacy classes, is the school’s yearbook advisor, and provides home and hospital instruction for students experiencing temporary disability. 

While working with the children’s literature collection at the University of Minnesota–Duluth—used by education students in their training—Kayleen Jones decided it needed to better represent the Duluth community and broader society. As she reviewed the collection to identify gaps, she was approached by education faculty interested in collaborating to provide hands-on experience for education students to learn about anti-racist practices. 

School librarian Linda Martinez serves three libraries in Texas’s Pharr–San Juan–Alamo Independent School District: Pathways Toward Independence, a program for adults with special needs; PSJA College Career and Technology Academy, which serves adults returning to education; and Buell Central DAEP, which students with behavioral challenges attend until they are readmitted to their regular schools.

Brittani Sterling had planned on going into social work, but when she realized she could help people through librarianship, she chose that path and never looked back. 

Nick Tanzi knew early in his library career that he’d focus on technology. As the World Wide Web gained prominence in the ’90s, he spent much of his time teaching internet and computer basics. After he became a digital services librarian, he created a training curriculum for staff and patrons that became his first book, Making the Most of Digital Collections Through Training and Outreach (Libraries Unlimited). 

Carrie Sanders, youth services coordinator at Maryland State Library Agency, works with the state’s youth librarians on “everything from early literacy to school age programming and teen services.” Maintaining trauma-informed care has been a hallmark of her work. 

When Brent Trout began his tenure as manager of St. Louis County Library’s (SLCL) History and Genealogy Department in April 2022, the first task he was given involved moving 12,949 linear feet of books to four different locations while the department’s new, permanent home at the Emerson History and Genealogy Center in SLCL’s Clark Family Branch was under construction. For two years, the temporary workspace for the department’s staff was a quarter of its original size. But, coming from an early career in the museum field, Trout viewed this challenging transition to SLCL as a fortunate one. 

Aileen Ayala was a math kid and assumed she would go into market research—but she also grew up feeling the library was her “safety net,” and valued volunteer work. The data analyst role at Denver Public Library merges those interests and her degree in quantitative psychology, letting her dig into the “people impact” of library stats. 

In his role as senior emerging technologies librarian, Edwin Rodarte coauthored a multi-million-dollar grant application netting the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) 7,000 laptop and hotspot bundles to lend to patrons as part of the library’s Tech2go initiative. He coordinates and supports programs including the 73-branch system’s Tech TryOut Carts, Tech Kiosks, and new Library of Things Program—offering patrons access to equipment ranging from GoPro cameras to car diagnostic toolkits—as well as LAPL’s Cybernaut program, where digital navigators offer one-on-one help to patrons with technology needs.

Do you know what an occupant-propelled land vehicle is? Or a horological device with avian features? Jen Byrnes, Head of Business Insight Center/ Digital Equity Initiative at Rochester Public Library, NY, does: They’re the patent terms for a bicycle and a cuckoo clock, respectively. Among myriad other services, she and her team conduct patent searches for local businesses, which involve using specialist language.

Tomasz Kalata is a library data whiz. That wasn’t his original plan, but his ideas have solved many collection issues for New York Public Library (NYPL) and Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). The Polish-born Kalata is responsible for “transforming” BookOps, NYPL and BPL’s shared technical services division, according to nominator Michael Santangelo, BookOps deputy director of collection management. 

By age 12, Billy Tringali was hooked on manga. “Reading something that came from all the way around the world was magical,” he says. “The stories were so different.” His hometown library in Kingston, MA, where he volunteered, had none, so he donated his collection. “It was incredible to see so many kids reading books that I put on the shelf,” he recalls. 

“I thrive on progress,” says Dr. Jennifer Brown. “If I see a problem, I want to fix it.” Brown’s go-getter attitude has earned her such honors as Virginia Library Association 2019 Librarian of the Year and makes her “a partner and collaborator of choice for projects and initiatives,” according to nominator Clint Rudy. 

As Outreach and Information Services Librarian for Cornell University Library and the Cornell Prison Education Program (CPEP), Maddie Reynolds navigates significant barriers to information provision. Her role, working at Auburn Correctional Facility, Cayuga Correctional Facility, and Five Points Correctional Facility, NY, was created by Cornell, as CPEP plans to begin offering bachelor’s degrees beginning in fall 2026. 

An early adopter of the makerspace movement, school librarian Nathan Sekinger has been spearheading collaborative and creative learning at T. Benton Gayle Middle School for more than 10 years. Sekinger’s makerspace innovations started small—with “toy take apart” projects for students—then adding activities exploring circuits and electronics. The library is now home to a variety of student exercise, play, and discovery spots ranging from stationary bikes to a ping-pong table to tools for invention and STEM learning. 

Even facing fierce political winds, Oklahoma librarians and colleagues Molly Dettmann, Amanda Kordeliski, and Cherity Pennington have successfully defended school libraries, devoting their energies to educating communities and state leaders on libraries’ advantages and responsibilities.

Nicola Andrews and Sandy Littletree, both passionate advocates for Indigenous librarians and librarianship, are coauthors (with 2022 LJ Mover & Shaker Jesse Loyer) of “Information as a Relation: Defining Indigenous Information Literacy.” According to Littletree, the collaboration came from “this desire to talk about what Indigenous librarians are experiencing on the ground and the different practices and ways that Indigenous librarians, particularly in academia, have been drawing on their ways of knowing in their practice and teaching.” 

As with any large-scale feature, Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers—sponsored by Hoopla—is a long, multipart endeavor. From the submissions that pour in after Labor Day to many rounds of judging, writing, photography, editing, layout, and refinement, the Movers process spreads out over a good three-quarters of a year. A lot can happen in that time.

A lot has.

A lot has happened in the library world since LJ opened up Movers nominations last fall, and the landscape looks decidedly different. But just as pandemic challenges drove new, creative processes, we think the 50 Movers profiled here demonstrate the strong work and resilience of libraries, now and to come.

Matt Huculak was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for his work with researchers, artists, Holocaust survivors, and educators to help develop a graphic book about the Holocaust. We recently spoke with Huculak, who is now director of KULA: Library Futures Academy at the University of Victoria, about the vital importance and relevance of that work and how it came about.

Allison Jennings-Roche was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work at the University of Maryland helping educate students, faculty, and librarians who work with information systems. LJ recently spoke with Jennings-Roche, who is now the associate director of digital initiatives and collections (and a PhD candidate) at the University of Baltimore’s RLB Library, about why it’s vital to understand information, where it comes from, and how it affects everyone.

Scott Summers, assistant director of the Media and Education Technology Resource Center (METRC) at North Carolina State University, was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for his work developing a program to help new teachers understand the growing problem of book censorship in school libraries, and how to work with librarians against it. We recently spoke with Summers about why he developed the program and what it teaches.

Sara Ring, continuing education librarian at Minitex (a joint program of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the University of Minnesota), was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work helping develop 23 Linked Data Things and the Minitex Wikimedia Project. LJ recently spoke with Ring about what it took to build those projects and her plans for the future.

Strong mutual support among community partners, and a conscious shift over the past decade to investigate what each of its neighborhoods needs most, and then step up to those needs, has earned St. Louis County Library the 2024–25 Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize.

Garland County Library, AR; North Bergen Free Public Library, NJ; and Queens Public Library, NY, demonstrate the resourceful programming, robust partnerships, and care for their communities that has earned them Honorable Mention for the 2020 Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize.

Nardia Cumberbatch, librarian at Florida’s Valencia College, was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work in helping the college achieve the Sustainable Library Certification Program, the second academic library in the country and the first library in Florida to have done so. We recently spoke with Cumberbatch about what it took to earn that certification and its resulting impact.

Los Angeles Public Library director John F. Szabo connects with every corner of his adopted city through innovation and compassion.

Aisha Johnson, associate dean for academic affairs and outreach at the Georgia Institute of Technology Libraries, was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work on Sustainable Leadership as a Solution for Representation and Inclusion in LIS: A Bibliography and Toolkit. We recently spoke with Johnson for insights and updates on her work.

Shamella Cromartie, associate dean of organizational performance and administration at Clemson University Libraries, was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work to expand outreach, membership, and support for Black librarians in South Carolina. We recently spoke with Cromartie to learn more about these projects.

Tarida Anantachai, director of inclusion and talent management for North Carolina State University Libraries, was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work rethinking how to approach recruitment and hiring through a more inclusive, diversity-focused approach. LJ recently spoke with Anantachai to learn more about her work in this area.

Wilmington Public Library enlists community input alongside vibrant in-house marketing to build excitement around innovative events. San José Public Library, CA, and Worcester Public Library, MA, received honorable mentions.

My mentor used to say that we really only need to ask two questions when recruiting people: “Do you like to solve problems?” and “Do you like to help people?” If so, you would like working in the library! I tend to think that she’s right—and if the Library Journal 2024 Movers & Shakers are any indication, the opportunity to support community, exercise creativity, and advance learning are forces driving their work.

Chelsea Heinbach is the teaching and learning librarian at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She was named a 2023 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work (with Nimisha Bhat, Hailley Fargo, and Charissa Powell) in developing the blog and related podcast (created by Amber Sewell): LibParlor, a site dedicated to helping researchers find community resources and have a place to ask questions, discuss issues, and share expertise. She and the team received an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to create LibParlor Online Learning (LPOL), a free, online curriculum devoted to research topics and how-tos. LJ recently followed up with her to learn more about her work.

Recognizing that young girls in groups are often outvoiced by male peers, Amanda Chacon—School Library Journal’s 2024 School Librarian of the Year—founded STEM GEMS, a club offering no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech challenges for girls.

As Head, Advanced Research Services and Digital Scholarship Librarian with the University of Victoria Libraries, Matt Huculak examines librarians’ role in scholarly communication, archiving, and collecting, while collaborating with other disciplines to bring that documentation to life.

In her scholarship, as in her instruction, Allison Jennings-Roche aims to seize opportunities to make people think critically about libraries as public institutions and about the information systems that impact their lives.

As the adult services librarian at the Curtis Memorial Library (CML) in Brunswick, ME, Hazel Onsrud is a passionate advocate for sustainable living, developing programming focused on sustainability to help her community discover how best to improve their environmental impacts.

As a reference manager for St. Louis County Library (SLCL), Phifer-Davis takes a proactive approach to outreach and programming. Under her watch, SLCL’s Reference by Mail for incarcerated individuals has grown from responding to fewer than 500 letters to about 2,600 in 2022.

Phil Shapiro is an enthusiastic champion of digital inclusion and outside-of-school learning, assisting youth and adults with public Linux computers at the Takoma Park Maryland Library (TPML) and singing the praises of open-source software through his YouTube channel.

“Librarians have the wit and grit to get things done,” says Scott Summers, a former high school English teacher and school librarian who now brings that experience to his work as assistant director of the Media and Education Technology Resource Center at NC State University’s College of Education.

Guided by the strategic goal to support local community needs with reflective services throughout the Santa Clara County Library District, Library Services Manager Clare Varesio spearheaded systemwide efforts to educate both library workers and the greater community on responses to the opioid overdose epidemic and mental health.

Isaiah West, who taught seventh-grade English before becoming a librarian, has a passion for working with young people. “Teens get a bad rap,” he says. “They can be moody, apathetic, chaotic, and more, but they are also authentic, inspiring, and funny.… They give me hope that society might have hope for a brighter and longer future.”

When Rebecca Wolfe noticed groups of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) come to her library, she saw an opportunity to make their library time more meaningful and engaging. She founded the monthly All Abilities Club, which offers crafts, games, literacy activities, music, and guest speakers to adults with IDD and caregivers.

Under Lauren Abner’s guidance, E-Rate participation levels and funding commitments to Kentucky libraries have risen to record highs, with the number of participating libraries in the state increasing from an average of 67 between 1998 and 2014 to an average of 99 each year from 2015 to 2022.

In 2023, Archibald’s work on two different projects generated enormous impact for the library and demonstrated that effective graphic design can make a difference in library programming.

Amber Gagliardi’s passion for gardening started as a child when she helped her grandfather plant seeds. She dreamed of starting a seed library at Middle Country Public Library for years before launching one in 2018 with 15 varieties of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds.

After being named library director in 2020, Tyler Hahn dove into calling attention to the rural digital divide and advocating for the crucial role of rural librarians on the radio, in news outlets, and to state and federal elected officials.

Marlon Moore isn’t one to sit back and wait for patrons to ask for assistance. Instead, he focuses on creating opportunities—and his contributions have earned the Miami-Dade Public Library System eight National Association of Counties Awards from 2013 to 2023 for unique and impactful programs.

As an archivist and division manager at Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Derek Mosley sees his work as an opportunity to preserve the stories of everyday people, ensuring that diverse records fill our cultural context and contributing to a more extensive portrait of African American life.

Sara Ring's work with the 23 Linked Data Things project grew out of conversations with colleagues at a conference a few years ago, where they discussed the lack of resources for librarians to keep up to date on technology. But it wasn’t until she and other coworkers formed a Wikidata Book Club that the discussion extended into how to help people—including themselves—learn about linked data.

Tara Somersall’s creativity serving children of all ages has made Yonkers Public Library a community leader in meeting kids’ needs and preparing them for a lifetime of reading.

When Alex Vancina joined the Helen Plum Library administration in 2017, plans to build a new $30 million facility had been put on hold—Vancina used the temporary setback as an opportunity to initiate a total revamp of the library’s IT and technical services departments.

Josselyn Atahualpa oversees adult education courses in literacy, English as a Second Language, and GED preparation. When she noticed a wave of asylum seekers coming to the library in early 2022, Atahaulpa alerted library leadership and pushed QPL to prioritize training on best practices for serving the community.

From her podcast, Allie the Librarian Booktalks, to her leadership with the Texas Library Association, Alexandra Cornejo demonstrates her unwavering commitment to intellectual freedom and promoting diverse voices in literature.

Meredith Crawford, Community Engagement Librarian with the Cedar Rapids Public Library, launched the Be Heard program at a local youth detention center with the goal of reducing recidivism by engaging students with literature and art.

As an American Library Association Emerging Leader, Nicollette Davis is always looking for ways to improve the library field. Through the We Here organization, she helps BIPOC library and information science professionals support each other in a welcoming space.

LaShawn Myles had not worked specifically with the disability community when she joined the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled in 2018. Her work as an educator led her to libraries, where she quickly became a champion for visually impaired patrons, advocating for resources and finding ways to make materials more accessible.

Mychal Threets, whose earnest TikTok videos have logged millions of views, started out sharing stories that epitomized what he calls “library joy” to inspire people to visit their library. He ended up capturing hearts across social media.

Over the past 22 years, Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers awards have offered a compelling snapshot of what’s up and coming in the library world, as well as how it has changed. Our 2024 Movers cohort represents a range of innovative, proactive, and supportive work; they are imaginative and kind and brave in a world that needs those qualities—and the results they produce—very much. 

Monnee Tong’s career has been shaped by her passion for social justice, which carries through to her work as supervising librarian at San Diego Public Library.

Visser's work on E-Rate policy and technology equity has been a game-changer for communities across the country, including in tribal libraries, where she helped improve access to broadband.

When Missouri’s Senate Bill 775 (SB 775) became law in 2022, calling for criminal penalties on educators who provide students with materials containing “explicit sexual material,” Melissa Corey recognized the severe implications for collection development and spearheaded a swift response to preserve compliant books in school libraries.

With a recent surge in book censorship efforts, Sarah DeMaria, cochair and president-elect of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association’s (PSLA) Advocacy Committee, hears from school librarians statewide who have faced public attacks, reassignments, and chosen resignation due to flawed policies.

Jensen, a librarian by trade, worked in a public library for several years before joining the Book Riot team in 2013, where she developed her passion about the right to read and access to books.

What do graphic novels, Grimace shakes, and Barbenheimer have in common? For 2022 Kentucky School Librarian of the Year Tim Jones, they can be tools for helping students develop media literacy.

Lucy Podmore became chair of the Texas Association of School Librarians at a key time, just as HB 900—the controversial state bill that would require vendors to rate books for explicit content before selling them to school libraries—was on its way to becoming law.

After working in school, academic, and museum libraries, Jennie Pu landed her first public library job as Hoboken Public Library (HPL) director two and a half years ago, and has already made her mark as a champion of intellectual freedom.

Huda Shaltry carries a copy of the U.S. Constitution in her purse. Referring to the First Amendment comes in handy when the Boise librarian meets with members of the Idaho Legislature in her role as Legislative Chair of the Idaho Library Association.

While she wears numerous hats at North Carolina State University Libraries, Tarida Anantachai says that “my work is centered on people and supporting not just who they are as fellow colleagues, but especially who they are more personally, and their individual lived experiences.”

When she was in college, Dr. Shamella Cromartie had a job at a public library where leadership and others were Black, which encouraged her to pursue a career in the field. “It’s important to see people that look like you in these positions so that you know that you can do it, too,” she says.