Libraries in Bloom: Recent Episodes
Libraries in Bloom
Libraries in Bloom is dedicated to highlighting narratives of nontraditional librarianship as told by library professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds. Nontraditional library positions or services involve innovative and sustainable processes of adapting libraries to meet their community needs in the 21st century. Follow along as we capture the many ways in which libraries are blooming, impacting the environment around them.
Meet Amari Brown, college student studying Business Management at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh. She completed her apprenticeship at the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin and was mentored by Yee Lee Vue, Adult Services and Community Engagement Librarian. Amari worked closely with Yee to design services that enhanced the library’s Small Business - Big Impact Initiative, which supports business startup, retention, and expansion efforts for people of color and immigrants. Tune in to hear more about the services along with Amari's overall apprenticeship experience.
Meet Moua Yang, senior undergrad studying English at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and an individual passionate about creative writing and storytelling. Moua’s background being Hmong American and working closely with youth at the Boys & Girls Club led him to participate in our library apprenticeship initiative. He completed his apprenticeship at the Elisha D. Smith Public Library in Menasha, WI and was mentored by Kirk Moore-Nokes, the Programming Supervisor at that library. Tune in to hear more about Moua's apprenticeship experience including the workshop, Character Creation, that he developed for youth in the community.
Meet Elkid Alvarez, the first Community Engagement Specialist at the Kenosha Public Library, WI. In her role, she leads a library service, Lobby Stops, that makes literacy and information more accessible for seniors. Listen to Elkid share more about the service along with her love of listening to others’ stories and helping them find information that allows them to better connect with their loved ones.
Meet Julia Wright, Youth Services and Outreach Librarian for the Alameda County Library in California. Julia fuses her passions together to bring a virtual drawing program, Doodle It, to families in her community. Julia reminds us that we are all artists in our own ways, and we don’t need to be perfect to spread creativity in our communities!
Meet Neeyati Shah, Community Engagement Librarian with the Madison Public Library in Wisconsin. She fosters community relationships and understanding of indigenous peoples and culture through the "Teejop and Beyond: Celebrating Native Nations of the Great Lakes" program. Neeyati provides honest insights on the process of ideation, design, and learning and re-learning how to make library programming fuse with the community in a respectful and inclusive way. Come learn more with us!
Meet Na’imah Ali, Acquisitions Lead at the Elisha D. Smith Public Library in Menasha, WI. Na'imah is also a writer, illustrator, and lover of all things creative. She published her first children’s picture book titled, “The Purple Around Us” in 2020 and encourages other creative minds to share their stories with the world. Come learn more about self-publishing and how surprisingly simple and affordable it can be.
Meet Mouna Algahaithi, Education Engagement Specialist with PBS Wisconsin. We discuss an exciting professional development opportunity for library professionals to access and activate the high-quality early learning resources at PBS Kids Wisconsin. Come listen to Mouna share more encompassing details about the opportunity including the benefits, time commitment, examples of implemented projects, and more!
Meet Joel Bangilan, librarian of the Laurie and Milton Boniuk Library at the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas. Come listen to Joel speak more about his role, the spread of book bans, and the inequities he's seen in his 25+ years of working in libraries. With the perspective he’s gained, he encourages everyone to think about human rights and the impact of hate and genocide as a global community.
Meet Shiela Keaise, the first African American children's librarian at the Colleton County Memorial Library in South Carolina. Shiela, also known as Ms. Literacy, has built an impressive 27-year career in libraries, embracing the changes that come with the times, including YouTube. Now she considers herself a professional YouTuber! Tune in as Shiela discusses the process of producing videos on YouTube to bring storytime and literacy to a broader audience.
Meet Victor Flores, Outreach Specialist with the award-winning Elisha D. Smith Public Library in Menasha, Wisconsin. Victor uses his bilingualism to inform families about literacy, media, and libraries as an institution. Come listen to him speak more about his role as Menasha’s first Outreach Specialist. Victor reminds us of the importance of having proximate leaders to create solutions that bring real change and move communities toward antiracism.
Meet Emely Villanueva, Teen Services and Engagement Librarian with the Appleton Public Library. Applying her professional background in higher education, she launched the College and Career Pathway Series in early 2020. The series collaborates with colleges and professionals to provide assistance and resources that educate teens and families on college processes and career options. In the episode, Emely discusses the need along with the challenges and rewards of starting the series during a pandemic. Come listen and learn more about the importance of college and career pathways services in libraries.
Meet Nikhat Jehan Ghouse, Associate Librarian at the American University and founder of Jehan Consulting in Washington D.C. Drawing on her 20+ year career in libraries and experience as an organization development consultant, she shares advice on navigating the workplace as BIPOC professionals. Nikhat discusses ways to identify compatible employers, advocate for oneself, and more. You don't want to miss it!
Meet Yer Vang, Hmong American Library Assistant for the Fresno County Public Library System, discusses a service she developed for Hmong families, the Family Literacy Storytelling Project. The project reflects Hmong values and strives to improve literacy through storytelling and games such as BINGO. Families receive free books to build their own library collections at home as well. Come hear Yer speak more about the history and implementation of the literacy project.
Meet Norma Oliveras, born and raised in Puerto Rico and the Hispanic Family Outreach Specialist with the Appleton Public Library. Norma relates to the barriers and struggles of immigrants and refugees resettling in a new community. Come listen to her discusses her role along with outreach strategies, programming ideas, political challenges, and more!
Meet Jameka Lewis, Senior Librarian for the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Denver, Colorado. Jameka discusses the importance of having cultural institutions, building trust with black communities, and ensuring libraries’ efforts live up to their potential of being democratic spaces for all. Come broaden your understanding of black knowledge institutions and the future of libraries.
Come listen to Pa Ja speak about an exciting community project she led in celebration of Hmong American Day and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, 2021. The project, Community Chords: Engagement through Music and Art, inspired by the Arlington Public Library, was designed to raise awareness of the Hmong American experience and diversify the library’s online presence. Pa Ja provides insight on unforeseen challenges and the benefits of having lively and cultural spaces within libraries.
Meet Dominic Davis, a black, white, Native American queer man from the eastern upper peninsula of Michigan. He is currently a Library Assistant at the Pinney library location within the Madison Public Library system in Wisconsin. Dominic is also the co-chair for their internal Racial Equity Change Team (RECT) and project manager for the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Affinity Group. Come learn more about RECT and the BIPOC Affinity Group in this episode. Dominic gives critique and discusses progress within both internal groups.
Meet Betsy Kowal, singer, musician, lover of children’s picture books, and Library Assistant in Children Services at the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin. Betsy designs storytimes that features different cultural music traditions around the world. She hopes to break the cycle of English folklore music historically used in storytimes and ensure families that their ancestor’s music are valued and uplifted at the library. Listen along as Betsy shares how she teaches children to embody the power of music and connect musical elements to a culture.
Meet Rob Franklin. Rob has been working in The BUBBLER at the Madison Public Library in Wisconsin for the past five years as the Media Projects Bubblerarian. He uses his hip hop and jazz musical expertise and vocals to help teach classes on audio recording and music production in The BUBBLER's media lab. It is Rob’s passion to build a sustainable music ecosystem and a more inclusive Madison through the arts and culture. Come learn more about Rob's work as a bubblerarian and his thoughts on the importance of equal access and representation.
Meet Connor Bowman, a Library Associate in Youth Services at the Milwaukee Public Library in Wisconsin. For his graduate thesis, he used an equity model to audit a radio show named Wind and Rhythm. Connor was interested in understanding what was being programmed at concerts, specifically within wind band music, and the amount of cultural/racial representation featured. Tune into this podcast episode with Connor Bowman, where he discusses his thesis findings and path to music librarianship.
Meet Yee Vue, Adults Services and Engagement Librarian for the Community Partnerships team at the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin. Yee spearheads an initiative, Small Business - Big Impact, that is funded by the American Library Association’s Libraries Build Business program. They were one of the thirteen public libraries across the nation to receive the competitive grant. The initiative aims to connect small businesses and local entrepreneurs to library tools as well as support business start up, retention, and expansion for and with people of color and immigrants. To learn more about Small Business - Big Impact, tune into this podcast episode with Yee.
Meet Lex Gee, Library Associate for Dane County Library Service in Wisconsin. Lex has been driving a bookmobile throughout the pandemic and bringing literacy and leisure to the homes of many residents in their area. Bookmobile services are not new in the library world, but their operations during the pandemic are. Tune in to this podcast episode with Lex to learn more about the operations of bookmobile services during the pandemic. Lex shares their insider perspective on safety and the importance of bookmobiles in these times when many library buildings are closed to the public.
Meet Alicia Woodland, the Young Adults Services Manager for the McMillian Memorial Library in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Alicia runs an online gaming service centered on the game, Among Us, for children, teens, and young adults. Come learn more about the design and value of the online gaming service with Alicia. She also discusses screen time, addiction, realism, and other stigmas associated with online and video gaming as well as the positive impact it has brought to families in her community.
Meet Zephyr Kendzierski, the Assistant Supervisor for their Public Services team at the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin. Zephyr and several other team members run a successful Job Connections service for individuals in the Fox Cities. Job Connections helps individuals connect with local employment opportunities. Individuals may request for one-to-one assistance with online job applications, resume and cover writing, browsing the web, digital skills, and any other techniques and tricks to guide them in their job search. Listen along to learn more about the history, challenges and rewards, and future of Job Connections.
Meet Julie Varee, the Outreach Archivist for the Anchorage Museum in Alaska. Julie jumped into her new role in early 2020 to improve the museum's collection of archives to be more reflective of the diverse community. Julie's position was created after the Director of the Anchorage Museum noticed a lack of diversity represented in their leadership, staff, and audience. Even their programs and exhibitions were not showcasing the rich cultures inherent to Anchorage life and history. Listen along as Julie shares her insight on outreach archivist work from the perspective of a social justice lens.
Meet Kristina Gomez, the Events and Programming Coordinator for the Milwaukee Public Library in Wisconsin. Kristina helped develop a deaf storytelling project for deaf and hard of hearing folks in the Greater Milwaukee Area. The project is designed to empower and encourage deaf individuals in the art of storytelling through workshops and professional coaching. The final event of the project titled, Deaf Story Slam, features storytellers sharing their stories on identity in front of a deaf and hearing audience. Listen along to learn more about the project design and implementation along with some challenges, rewards, and advice for others interested in replicating a similar project.
Meet Tanya Misselt, the Library Director for River Falls Public Library in Wisconsin. Tanya talks about an outreach initiative she launched for the Appleton Public Library while she was their Children Services Supervisor. The initiative, Appleton Ready to Read, brings early literacy to Hmong and Hispanic families in the Fox Cities, two populations identified in a community study as struggling with reading comprehension. Outreach specialists were hired to conduct home visits, library visits, and family programming. Listen along as Tanya shares her unfiltered thoughts on challenges of designing a progressive model and making initially granted-funded positions permanent.
Hello and welcome to Libraries in Bloom. We are Pa Ja and Andy, the creators. We wanted to introduce the podcast series with a quick introduction of ourselves. Listen along as we share a little bit of our lives and love of libraries with you all. Thank you for supporting this passion project of ours. We hope you will continue to tune in and follow us in our efforts to shed light on innovative library services as told by library professionals from culturally-diverse backgrounds.