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. 

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.

“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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.