Movers

As the lead instructor with the On the Road to Kindergarten mobile library, Irma Fernandez helps transform the lives of children in Howard County’s underserved communities through early literacy programs. The van visits all of the pre–K students at every elementary school in the county, bringing library resources and material to children of all backgrounds to help them get ready for kindergarten.

At the University of Victoria, Ry Moran has brought his experience to the libraries’ work of reconciliation, decolonization, and understanding Indigenous history, supporting students and faculty through a range of initiatives. The most recent of these is hosting and producing a podcast, Taapwaywin, which means “truth” or “speaking truthfully” in Michif, a language of the Métis people.

In addition to being a beloved story time leader and early childhood literacy advocate, Katie Clausen—“Miss Katie” to her youngest stakeholders—holds a professional certification in Adverse Childhood Experiences. When she realized that families in her community needed age-appropriate mental-health resources, she and colleague Elizabeth Forkan created a circulating collection of Resiliency Kits—books, games, activities, and information for adults and children on themes of grief and loss, divorce, addiction, emotions, and bullying.

Jaena Rae Cabrera has a “not-so-secret agenda,” according to Alan Wong, learning and instruction librarian at San Francisco Public Library (SFPL). “She wants to increase Filipino American visibility and representation at [SFPL],” he says. Cabrera’s efforts include joining forces with Pilipinx American Library, a mobile, noncirculating collection and programming platform, on two events at the Public Knowledge project, a collaboration with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, in 2018 and 2019. 

Christopher Brannon and George Williams are go-to experts helping the free, open source Koha integrated library system (ILS) grow and thrive in U.S. libraries. Both have been active leaders in the koha-US user group: In addition to their work on committees and regular appearances as presenters and panelists at conferences and events, Brannon is the organization’s current president, and Williams is a past president. 

Karla Alvarez has come full circle. While in high school, she got her first job at the San José Public Library as an after-school tutor. Today, after more than 15 years spent traveling to work in conflict studies and community building—a journey that included Mexico, Belize, Kenya, the Philippines, and more—the San José native is back at the city’s library system as Community Programs Administrator, Equity & Inclusion Services. Throughout, she has focused on eliminating barriers and strengthening access to services.

While serving as Open Educational Resources (OER) and Student Success Librarian at Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries, Gong launched a student-centered OER program in 2019 to address the overwhelming barriers of affordability and access students faced. At the time, fewer academic libraries utilized free open learning, teaching, and research materials.

In 2016, Frost founded Sewing Rebellion at Boulder Public Library's BLDG 61 to encourage people to make their own clothes or repair damaged clothing rather than buy new. The program became popular in Boulder as the upcycling and creative reuse movements grew. In 2019, Frost retired Sewing Rebellion. But when approached by a colleague about joining a project called Slay the Runway, in collaboration with the library and local LGBTQIA+ organizations, Frost jumped at the chance.

For researchers at North Carolina State University, computing and data resources are plentiful. However, finding and employing the right tools for a particular project can be challenging, whether for a researcher still in the planning or discovery phases of a project or an administrator. Susan Ivey’s mission as director of the new Research Facilitation Service: Cut through that confusion.