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Candidate Statement
Madeline Bryant is the Principal Librarian of Youth Services at the Los Angeles Public Library, a position she has held for 3 and half years. Madeline started at LAPL as a children’s librarian in 1997 and has held various youth-related positions since then, including subject specialist and trainer of children’s librarians, manager of Teen’Scape and manager of the Children’s Literature Department at Central Library. She is a passionate advocate for excellence in service to youth and their caregivers and believes in having children’s and teen voices be heard.
Madeline has served on many professional committees including the ALSC’s Liaisons to National Organizations Serving Children and Youth, the 2011 John Newbery Award selection committee and the 2018 Sibert Award committee. Madeline was an ALA Councilor-at-Large from 2013-2016, during which she discovered she very much enjoyed process and procedure work. Most recently, she was selected to participate in the 2018-19 CLA Leadership Challenge. As part of that project in May 2019 she presented a briefing paper, which she helped write, on equity diversity, and inclusion in library staffing to the California State Library.
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Candidates for President-Elect
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When she is not at work she is walking her 8 month-old puppy Biscuit, hiking in the Sierra, or volunteering in Yosemite National Park doing trail maintenance, invasive species plant removal, and preventive search and rescue.
Questionnaire
1. Why are you interested in this position?
I am interested in serving a three-year term as a Board Member for the California Library Association because I want to take an active role in advocating for libraries and the library profession throughout the state. I am not afraid to step outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself –and others- to improve services and adapt to change in meaningful ways. I also enjoy teamwork and creating connections with other library professionals to strengthen and grow our shared vision and goals.
2. How would you describe your personal leadership/communication style?
I am an active listener, a diplomatic communicator and an empathetic team facilitator. In my role as Principal Librarian and Coordinator of system wide Youth Services, I have proven that I can work well with library staff at all levels from 73 locations throughout the city. I feel these on-the-job leadership skills are relevant and would translate well to working with those from around the state.
3. What strengths would you bring to the position?
I have a positive attitude, an openness to new ideas and a willingness to learn. I am a careful listener and one who likes to process my thoughts before speaking. I have consistently demonstrated the ability to work well with committees and teams in a variety of settings and organizations.
4. What experience do you bring to this position?
I have worked in public libraries since I was 16 years old. I have been a youth librarian for 22 years. I bring with me the experience of having worked with the public for almost 19 years and as a system wide coordinator for over 3 years now. My experience as an ALA Councilor-at-Large gave me an understanding of the behind-the-scenes procedures and processes of a large library organization. I enjoyed it! I think that experience will translate well to the Board Member position and I am looking forward to learning more about CLA in this capacity.
5. What issues or trends are particularly informing your work at this time?
As a Youth Services Coordinator whose focus is shaping programs, services, and initiatives for 0-18 for a large urban library, early literacy constantly shapes the work that I do and the work of our children’s librarians. Our outreach efforts right now are targeted at hospitals and health care providers who have immediate access to infants and their parents, especially those who may not otherwise know about the library as a valuable free resource. We have a program called Read Baby Read that provides new and expecting parents with early literacy information, a free book, and baby’s first library card.
I am particularly concerned about the upcoming 2020 census. In 2010, 1 million children under the age of 5 were undercounted. 210,000 of those were children in California. The consequences of another massive undercount are immediate and real, especially for some racial and ethnic groups who need the funding the most. In the coming months and next year, we will be engaging in programs, services, and outreach all about the count.
Lastly, I am very proud of our Teens Leading Change civic engagement initiative which provides a pathway at the library for teens to engage in their community through teen-generated direct-action projects. Teens benefit from leadership and networking opportunities through the program, increase their understanding of the issues they are addressing and become civically engaged members of their community. It’s exciting and inspiring!
6. Who are the thought leaders (in libraries or in other fields) who interest you?
I get inspired by my colleagues every time I go to a conference! I feel you can be a leader at any level. However, the past few years I’ve started meditating and reading a lot about mindfulness. I particularly enjoy Jon Kabat-Zinn, Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama. I also am fascinated by women in positions of power, particularly Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader-Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. I am currently listening to Michelle Obama’s book â “Becoming”.
7. Who are the regional and statewide stakeholders libraries need to be in communication with?
Library users and library volunteers are always the most important stakeholders. Listening to and respecting their needs are the priority. In order to meet the needs of library users, libraries need to be in constant conversation with policymakers and politicians, commissioners and council people. Those who are in positions of power and influence need to know what the library does and how it changes lives. For example, our Youth Services office just held a 30th anniversary recognition event for our 200 STAR volunteer readers. We invited Mayor Eric Garcetti, who could not attend but made a video thanking our volunteers for their service and having read to 933,467 children over the years. If you have a Friends Group or a Library Foundation, working with them effectively is critical so that they can communicate to potential donors the impact of the work we do.
8. What do you feel are the most critical challenges and opportunities facing California libraries right now?
An ongoing significant issue facing the library profession is diversity in the workplace. In order to truly communicate the message that libraries are inclusive and welcome everyone, it is imperative that libraries reflect the communities they serve in their staffing. Librarians and library staff from diverse backgrounds and who speak languages other than English can be the best advocates to others.
Another compelling issue affecting library professionals is the process of re-thinking, adapting or retiring old service models to improve service overall. Now more than ever, libraries are in the midst of pivotal and important change to meet community and societal needs. The challenge lies in providing responsive, excellent service while implementing necessary organizational restructuring. I’d love to play a part in inspiring, empowering and leading staff to develop proactive services while abolishing or changing other long-standing, now obsolete practices in the library.
9. Describe your experience serving on Association committees and/or interest groups.
I consider it part of my responsibility as a librarian to be an active participant in the library profession at large. I am a longtime member of ALA, CLA, the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) and locally, the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California (CLCSC) and Friends of Children and Literature (FOCAL). Over the years, I have served on various ALA and ALSC committees, including: Liaisons to National Organizations Serving Children and Youth, the John Newbery Award Committee, the Robert F. Sibert Award Committee, and a 3-year term as a Councilor-at-Large on the ALA Council.
These experiences have broadened my awareness, knowledge, and understanding of issues that need to be addressed and the process by which changes can be made. For the first time in years, I am not serving on a national committee. Last year, I decided to get more involved at the state level and was accepted to the Leadership Challenge through the CLA and the CA State Library. It was an invigorating experience and actually served as the impetus for me to apply for the position of CLA Board Member.
10. Describe your network of connections with library professionals and library stakeholders in California.
My entire job is about networking and building partnerships with educational partners, organizations and departments serving children, youth, and families. I’ll mention a few! One of the largest collaborations is with the LA Unified School District. We have issued Student Success Library Cards to all 630,000 students in the LAUSD and have expanded the program to charter, private and parochial schools. We also work closely with the LA County Office of Education and LA’s BEST Afterschool program to ensure that every child in the City of Los Angeles knows about the available student resources at the library. For our early literacy initiatives, we partner with the LA County Department of Health Services, Head Starts and Early Head Starts and the Child Care Resource Center of LA.Â
We work with the California State Library and the LA Regional Food Bank to provide summer meals to youth, filling a very important role in making sure youth are nourished both physically and mentally at the library during the summer. This Fall we will be partnering with the LA County Library, the Pasadena Public Library and the LA County Department of Mental Health to provide teen health, wealth and wellness training and education to our staff.
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