President

The library was never relevant to me outside my formative years.  I went to the library often when I was a kid and teen, but outside of assignments in college, I never used the library because I never felt like I belonged in one.  There is something to be said about representation, and being in an environment where people look like you.  Most of us tend to gravitate towards situations and environments that make us comfortable.  The library never made me comfortable.  The library never spoke to me in any meaningful way because I never saw anyone that looked like me, or saw any programs that reflected my community other than to highlight what people not from my community thought my community needed.  I felt no one understood me

I started working in libraries simply because I needed money.  I did not realize the power of libraries until I started to learn more and more about the work libraries do.  I wanted to be the catalyst for change just like the people who helped me to become successful were to me.  One of my mentors told me that working in libraries and education was not about you changing the lives of others, it was about providing people the opportunity and the resources to change their own lives.  This is why I am running for president of CLA. As the California library community, I want us to be embedded in our communities, and recruit in our communities in order to obtain the diversity of thought and ideas that make librarianship unique.  I want CLA to be the platform on which we go into these communities, academic and public, and build up the future of our libraries by informing people that are different from us of the impact they can make on their own community outcomes. The future of the library and the community is not dictated to us.  We are the creators of this future, and it is my goal as CLA president to have widespread outreach from Eureka to San Diego, El Camino College to Stanford, LAUSD to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.  To meet the needs of our future, we need to reflect our entire communities, and it is my goal as CLA president to begin an active community recruitment and partnership campaign to do so. In order relate to our communities, we must involve our communities, recruit from our communities, and get the message out to our communities that they do belong, by proactively introducing them to library work, and its powerful impact. 

Questionaire

1.  How do you define leadership?
   I define leadership as not always being out-front, but being the glue that brings diverse creators together in order to create a successful whole.  I am greatly influenced by musicians, especially jazz musicians.  The great bandleaders always understood that their role was to highlight the components of their band, and not focus solely on themselves.  Bandleaders such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and more recently Branford Marsalis, often would step off stage during band member solos.  These artists understood that as the leader, if they were to remain on stage during these solos, all focus from the audience would be on them.  To ensure that this did not occur, these artists would step away during these solos to ensure that the focus would be on the person soloing and performing, but they would always return to the stage to bring the band back to the “head” (melody).  I feel that as a true leader, is my role to create success for others and for the group as a whole.  True leadership is about molding and innovating with creators, and not moving in a singular unilateral direction.
2. Why are you interested in this position?
   I am interested in this position because I feel that I can make an impact on the future of California libraries in this role.  I am not a traditional librarian, and I come from a very untraditional background.  I was a college dropout.  I would have been homeless if not for a few friends that allowed me to live with them. I began working in libraries simply because I needed a job.  As I continued to work in libraries, I realized the power the library has to provide people with access to information and opportunity to change their lives.  I am one of the very few Black males in California and the nation in my role. To be quite honest, there are so few Black men that work in libraries, that many people assume that I am not black.  I find this disheartening and I want to make a difference in the librarian community.  As president, I will reach out into black and brown communities to make them aware of the work that we do, and to serve as a mentor to those who do not even know that we exist. True diversity starts from the ground up, and as president, this is something that I will work wholeheartedly in doing.
3. How would you describe your personal leadership/communication style?
   My leadership and communication style is one of listening and humor.  I find it to be extremely important to truly listen to the people that I work with and work for.  I feel that quite often when we appear to be listening, we are only preparing our response in our heads, and not actually thoroughly listening to what is being said.  I work very hard at listening and synthesizing what is being communicated before responding.  As a leader, I feel it is extremely important for people to understand how much their input and opinion is appreciated, so I value and create an environment in which all have free space to share and create.
4. What strengths would you bring to the position?
   I bring the strength of coming from a non-traditional background.  I used libraries in college, but I did not use libraries again until I began working in them.  My strength comes from in the past being a non-library user.  I find that many librarians come from the perspective of love for libraries, and grew up in an environment where the library was essential.  I have always looked at it from the perspective of someone that did not grow up in such an environment, and honestly found no relevancy for libraries in my neighborhood, and no community connection from libraries in my neighborhood.  The only time librarians, or government entities in general, came to my neighborhood was for a photo opportunity, or because they were seeking votes for funding.  No one ever came to my neighborhood for us, only what they could get out of us.  I bring the strength of knowing how to approach people and communities that feel they are not being approached with their best interest in mind.  I understand how to reach members of the community that do not care and/or not aware, because for many years I was one of them. As president, I will physically be present in these areas, to ensure that we create opportunities and connections for the members of these communities.
5. What experience do you bring to this position?
   I began working in libraries as college dropout, driving a golf cart delivering books across the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  I worked my way from this, to serving in supervisory/administrative roles at North Carolina State University (Access Services Supervisor), UC Davis (Head of Circulation), Stanford University (Operations Manager), The City of Palo Alto (Library Services Manager), Contra Costa County Library (Deputy County Librarian), and the Los Angeles Public Library (Director of Branch Library Services). I have experience in academic libraries, and in Northern and Southern California, giving me a wealth of knowledge in the similarities, differences and needs of each region. During this time I also went from being a dropout, to obtaining a BA in African American Studies, and a MLIS and MPA.
6. What issues or trends are particularly informing your work at this time?
   The issues and trends that inform my work are mainly related to questions and discussions concerning the future of the library.  Is the library more collection focused, or more program focused? Are we prepared for the effects of homelessness and the opioid crisis? Are we, as librarians, ready for the future and what that means for our role?  I often view these issues and trends from the standpoint of conversations around most things relating to the future.  People often speak of the future, and issues and trends as if these things are something happening to them, rather than having an active role in the creation of these issues. The community that we create is directly reflected in the work that we do in the libraries we work in.  It is our community, so therefore whatever trends and problems are in the community are reflected in what we choose to focus on.  I am focused on how the library can participate at the ground level in addressing the systemic needs of our communities, but also retaining our identity as a source of information resources, books for entertainment, and historical preservation.  In doing so, as President, I will meet with stakeholders throughout the state in order to participate in the creation of new approaches to address these needs.
7.  Who are the thought leaders (in libraries or in other fields) who interest you?
   Thought leaders that influence me are musicians.  I often find the best influencers are people that do work that I do not do, and/or cannot do.  I use their thoughts and innovations as a way to create in my personal and professional life. Music is such a fabric of our life, and it connects us in ways that many art forms and media do not.  As a child, I related to my father through artists like Bo Diddley and Jimmy Reed.  I often use music to relate to generations before me and after me.  I use the work of musicians, and the techniques of musicians, to create innovative working teams in my library career.  Currently, the musicians that have a large influence on my work are Van Hunt and Meshell Ndegeocello.  They are key thought leaders in that they create for the sake of the art form rather than the adulation. I feel as a leader, it is my role to respect the community and create for the community, rather than create with the expectation and desire for acknowledgement.
8. Who are the regional and statewide stakeholders libraries need to be in communication with?
   Libraries need to be in communication with the people who do not use their services or participate in anything library-related.  As I stated earlier, libraries need to be in the community in order to introduce themselves and the profession to members of the community.  I often am in discussions regarding the lack of diversity in the field of librarianship, and these conversations consist almost entirely of people that do not look like me.  I don’t see how this is successful or effective in discussing diversity or how to address minority stakeholders from other than an outsider point of view.  If we are to have true diversity, the key is to be in communication early with key individuals in communities of color to introduce them to the library.  I was not aware of library work as a career until college.  Some may find this unbelievable and laughable, but it is true.  Knowing this, what does that say about our true efforts in communication with our stakeholders and creating true diversity through inclusion?  As President, I am determined to work with communities throughout the region in having conversations with members of the community who are not yet active stakeholders and participants in the library community.
9.  What do you feel are the most critical challenges and opportunities facing California libraries right now?
   The most critical challenges and opportunities facing California libraries are around the need for continued relevance in the communities that we are desperately seeking to serve.  The library is many things to many different people.  For some the library is a place of story time and youth programs, for others the library is place for research.  Some people use the library for strictly entertainment purposes, while others use the library as a place of refuge and safety.  The critical challenge for the library is understanding that we represent all of these things to the people that we serve, and to focus on all the things that we are, and not solely focus on one particular aspect.  In order for us to do this work, it is important for us to be engaged with the entire library community in order to meet all of the diverse needs of our community.
10.  Describe your experience serving on Association committees and/or interest groups.
    I am currently serving on the CLA Conference Sponsorship committee.  I am a member of CLA, ALA and the American Society for Public Administration.
11. Describe your network of connections with library professionals and library stakeholders in California.
    As previously stated, I have been in administrative roles in academic and public libraries in Northern and Southern California.  This has provided me the experience of creating a strong network of community stakeholders in both regions, and in both public and academic libraries.  I have a strong understanding of community needs in both regions, and a strong understanding of academic libraries in the state, and how to make lasting connections between the two.  As President, it is my goal to leverage these connections to focus on the needs of the entire state, and the entire library community.