My professional interests include partnership development, readers’ advisory, community engagement, communications and marketing, change management, and social justice.

I became a librarian to help people find books, because I think that sometimes the right book at the right time can change people’s lives.

I don’t believe there’s such a thing as boys’ books and girls’ books. I think graphic novels count as real reading (so do audiobooks). I think people should read what they want, and I think there’s a book out there for everyone. But I still think it’s okay if you grow up to like cartoons more than books, or you climb mountains or untangle threads of DNA in search of stories rather than find them between pages of books.

Books are at the heart of what libraries do: they are the only institutions collecting and organizing books and materials for community members to share. Not only that, but they are staffed by professionals who help. In today’s world of privatization and late-stage capitalism, that is a radical act. The strategic, organized campaign to have certain types of books is rooted in hate but is also about the idea that knowledge should be free. Defending intellectual freedom, access, and public funding for public libraries is essential work.

But I also think libraries are more than just repositories of books and other materials. They’re community centers and often the last public place where any and all are welcome. They connect people to information and resources no matter what form they take, and they provide the tools that enrich people’s lives.

Libraries need to invest in their staff, who are increasingly burnt out, overextended, and underpaid, despite the increasingly complex, intricate, varied, and essential work they are being asked to do. I’m a fierce advocate for staff training and empowerment and advocacy for the profession.