WebJunction

Hello- greetings from Boston. This is Shelley Quezada, part of the Massachusetts Team. I work at the Mass Board of Library Commissioners, the state library agency. I work to develop library outreach progams for speakers of other languages including a growing Spanish and Portuguese population. I also serve as liaision with prison libraries and work to improve services for people with disabilities and the homeless. I have lived in Latin America for nine years (Brazil and Mexico). Last summer I had an amazing professional experience where I traveled to Sierra Leone, West Africa interviewing librarians and teachers in this war ravaged country. Then a few weeks later I conducted more interviews in Indonesia where I traveled from Java to Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra speaking with librarians about the importance of an international foundation's book donation program. In both countries the library served as a vital part of the community.
I look forward to working with you all both virtually and in person in the coming year.

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My name is Kathy Robins. I recently began working as a reference librarian and am working toward my MLIS. I have a lot to learn about library services and librarianship! I live in Billings, Montana and go to school at the University of Washington (distance program). My background is in the management of information technology, teaching IS/Applications to students and adult learners and in database design. I LOVE teaching people how to use technology as a tool. I am thrilled to participate in SLO. By the way, the software for the kick-off venue was great!

My claim to fame is that I am the mother of 4 wonderful sons. I've been involved in every kind of sporting event you can imagine. Team mom? Swimming instructor? Coach? That's me. We also have at least 7 different kinds of musical instruments in our home. (Although right now, Guitar Hero is the rage.) Those years are winding down now - only one child left at home. But, what a ride!

2 pictures attached:
-The whole fam in Italy in 2004 (3 weeks of bliss!)
-Me last Christmas

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Hi. I'm Sue Jackson from the Library Development Department of Montana State Library. I'll be acting as coordinator for SLO in our state, but won't be coming to Seattle for the institute. We'll have three great public librarian/trainers attending who will bring back the curriculum to share with there fellow librarians. I'm sorry I'll miss the leopard-skin bathrobes!

I'm Leah Langby, the Library Development and Youth Services Coordinator at the Indianhead Federated Library System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Like Marty, I sometimes wish my job title actually led to an understanding of what I do at work--people's eyes sometimes glaze over before I'm done explaining, but I know you library people won't mind! I work for a library system that serves 53 public libraries in 10 counties. My job is to make sure folks have the resources they need to serve youth and people with "special needs" (which is very broadly defined), and to coordinate the continuing education our system offers.

I'm excited to work on this project. I'm very interested in helping our libraries reach out to the Spanish speaking population--around here it is mostly rural and can be hard to reach, so I'm really looking forward to getting some good ideas. It will be great to get experience and support for doing more in-depth training, as well. I'm also looking forward to getting more experience using WebJunction and other technology (technology is NOT my area of expertise, to say the least).

Personal tidbits: I live in the country with my family, where we raise most of our own vegetables (especially now!), along with chickens and a couple of llamas (partly for their fiber, but mostly for their humor value). We have a family band that plays mostly celtic and old-timey tunes, we call ourselves the Barnyard Banshees! Being the only band member who doesn't practice unless there is a gig coming up, I ride on everyone else's coat tails.

I'm really looking forward to meeting and learning together in the fall.

Hola, que tal? I am Yolanda Jasso, and I work as a library associate at the Hollis & Helen Baright Library in Ralston, Nebraska. I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and Spanish was my first language. I left El Paso when I married a military man. My husband and I have three children - one in college, one in highschool, and one in middle school. After living a nomadic military life for the last twenty-five years, we have finally reached our final duty station (at least that's what my husband says).

Having worked at the Ralston Library for only a little over a year, I am a "newbee" to the library world.Since I've been here, I've helped develop the ELL (English Language Learner) Hispanic outreach. It has been great to "dust off" my rusty Spanish language skills - it's all coming back to me now. I thoroughly enjoy working the our Spanish-speaking patrons, and look forward to learning how to service them better.

I look forward to seeing you all in Seattle!

Hello!

My name is Rebecca Paul. I work at WebJunction in Seattle and am helping Laura and Emily out with various SLO projects. I'm from Seattle and just graduated in June with my MLIS from the University of Washington. I enjoy hearing about experiences in the library world and would like to work in a public library one day.

In a couple months I'm headed to live in Bhutan for a couple years. My boyfriend will be a chef over there. I am unsure of what library work I can do but am excited to find out. I probably won't use much Spanish but learning new languages is always a plus.

I hope we get some good weather for the training!

Hola, everybody! My name is Eleanor Stafford, and I am part of the MA contingent. I work for Libraries for the Future (LFF), a non-profit organization whose goal is to champion the role of public libraries in American life and to promote new approaches to sustaining and developing libraries. Check out the LFF website if you're interested: http://www.lff.org/index.html

Specifically, I am the Massachusetts EqualAccess Program Manager (EqualAccess is an LFF initiative). My office is housed at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and I run a professional development/LSTA grant program for public librarians in Massachusetts who are interested in community-responsive programming--with particular emphasis on three target audiences: youth (teens and 'tweens), health consumers, and older adults.

I am also the Basic Literacy Trainer for Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts and run an 18-hour, bi-monthly training for volunteer tutors in the teaching of reading to adults with limited literacy skills.

I am not a librarian, but a former 4th/5th grade teacher and learning disabilities specialist. However, I am the daughter of a fun, community-responsive librarian. (Mom just retired after serving for 28 years as the library director of the Thomaston Public Library, CT--there were tears aplenty.)

Interesting factoid: I just finished writing a 350-page novel for children. Now the real work begins as I try to get it published!

Congratulations on finishing your book. That's a huge accomplishment - good luck finding a publisher!

Emily

Hi, I am Cheryl Carpenter from Nashville, TN. I am a new librarian; graduated 4 years ago. I work in Popular Materials at the gorgeous main branch of the Nashville Public Library. I am very excited about this new learning opportunity as well as seeing the Seattle Public Library. Since fourth grade I have wanted to be a librarian and have a license to read but I navigated through the corporate world until at 50 I decided to get my Masters of Information Sciences. I was a University of Tennessee distance ed student so I learned the technology end very quickly! Yet, I was impatient to finish so I took weekend classes during the summer and splurged and took my last class in Prague! Fantastic experience as it was 10 months after the flood so I got to see how information can be saved or lost so quickly.

I have 2 grown independent daughters of whom I am very proud. My oldest is starting her Masters in Social Work this week after working in the corporate world and being an actress in NYC. My youngest is an Admissions Recruiter for the University of South Carolina and travels all the time. She is scoping out Seattle for me over Labor Day.

Other than my daughters, my two memorable events were travels out of the country where the government had recently changed. My sister lived in South Africa and I got to go with her to set up her house. It was post apartheid and Mandela was in office. Lovely country but still redefining and learning. The second trip was going to Prague with my daughters earlier when it was still in the transition of no longer being under Soviet rule. Both experiences made me realize the ripple that our own civil rights movement had on the world. It also made me very embarrassed as to how rushed I am as an American and that other places "pleasure" is used in place of "you're welcome" and life is to be taken at a slower pace. While I do not have a background in Hispanic communities, I want so much to learn how we as librarians can reach and welcome the community finding what we all have in common.

So I am thrilled to be doing this and getting the chance to read of our predecessors and to get to meet my fellow trainers.

Butterflies and roses. If you were a children's book character, Ineavelle, you could call yourself, Rosa Mariposa.

I look forward to meeting everyone at the institutes and hearing about all the incredible experiences you will be bringing to the program!

Emily