 | Biography
Nikki Winslow is the District Director for the Altadena Library District, starting in this position in November 2019. Prior to this current position, she was the Assistant Director of the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department. She came to California libraries in March 2017 from Las Vegas, where worked for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District for almost 15 years and she was most recently the Branch Manager at the Spring Valley Library of that system.
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She graduated from UNLV with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 2001 and from the University of North Texas with a Master’s of Library and Information Science in 2005. In all of her library positions, she has worked with a very diverse patronage, with programming targeted at ESL and Citizenship training for those that have recently emigrated to the United States. In addition to that, she enjoys working with her community to create awareness of the countless resources that the library system has to offer, increasingly in a digital format. This has been especially crucial in the Curbside offerings that Altadena continues to expand to meet the critical needs of the community during the pandemic.
On a personal note, Nikki has been with her husband for over 20 years and has three wonderful children, Alyssa (21), Caitlynn (19), and Landon (13). Her favorite hobby is playing tennis and has LOVED the Southern California weather in pursing lots of tennis matches- even in a socially distanced manner these past few months! Candidate StatementI would like to become more involved with the California Library Association and believe that serving as the Chapter Councilor would give me this opportunity. I served as the Chair of the CLA Annual Conference 2019 and enjoyed meeting librarians and library workers from across the state. As Chapter Councilor, I would have the ability to grow CLA's network with library professionals from across the country was well. Having moved from Nevada three and a half years ago, I know that California is ahead of the curve on many library services and programs and would be proud to share these advancements with my fellow Councilors and others I meet when representing CLA at conferences and other events. Libraries are facing an unprecedented time with budgetary and public health uncertainty so this increased communication and collaboration will be more important than ever.
Questionaire
1. How do you define leadership? Leadership is having vision and a plan to carry an organization, project or initiative forward in a positive, inclusive and proactive way. This is done by taking ownership and responsibility of the goals and objectives that need to be achieved.
2. Why are you interested in this position? I have done many years of professional association work, with ALA, PLA, Reforma, NLA (Nevada Library Association) and CLA. I have not been a Chapter Councilor and am excited at the idea of taking on a new role. I would enjoy meeting Councilors from across the country and bringing the services and projects from other places back to the CLA Board and the state as a whole.
3. How would you describe your personal leadership/communication style? I believe in consistent and clear communication. I meet monthly with my direct reports to get updates, provide kudos and develop connections to enhance the work that we are doing together. This is also what I did as the CLA Conference Chair, which I think contributed to the success of that conference in terms of planning and organization.
4. What strengths would you bring to the position? I really enjoy meeting and getting to know new people. I also have excellent time management skills and know I can balance this work for the CLA Board with my other professional responsibilities. I am also a team player and will do whatever is needed to advance the work of CLA for the state.
5. What experience do you bring to this position? As I reference above, I have been very active in professional association work. I served on the Action Council of the Social Responsibilities Round Table from 2009-2017, including being the Coordinator for this group from 2014-16. I have also served on the PLA Legislation and Advocacy Committee for several years, which I believe is in alignment with many of the goals of the Chapter Councilors and the collaborative work they strive to do.
6. What issues or trends are particularly informing your work at this time?As I’m sure everyone will answer, the COVID pandemic has dominated the work that I have done in my first year in this position. We have had to come up with new and creative ways to offer service to our communities that need us more than ever right now. In Altadena we are also very focused on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), including the formation of an EDI team in January 2020, and expanded efforts on staff training, programming that embraces these concepts and a new outreach strategy to reach even more people in our community.
7. Who are the thought leaders (in libraries or in other fields) who interest you?I have really enjoyed working with several Directors in California that have inspired me as thought leaders and innovators. These include Michelle Perera, Skye Patrick, Patty Wong and too many more to name. I appreciate their focus on equity and expansion of library services, which have grown our work not only in California, but throughout the United States and beyond.
8. Who are the regional and statewide stakeholders libraries need to be in communication with? I believe it is important to work with your local and state legislators so they understand the important role that libraries play in communities. Working for an unincorporated special district in LA County, we communicate with the Board of Supervisors, our local Town Council, our state and federal elected officials and more. Funding comes from a variety of sources, as we all know, so telling our story and developing relationships with these stakeholders is key to future funding and relevance in our communities.
9. What do you feel are the most critical challenges and opportunities facing California libraries right now?With the COVID crisis and things being shutdown for so many months across the state, library budgets have been or will be seriously impacted by the reduction in sales tax and other revenue sources. These cuts tend to lead to a reduction in workforce, since the bulk majority of our spending is on salaries and benefits.
10. Describe your experience serving on Association committees and/or interest groups. • California Library Association Member 2017-Present
o CLA Conference Chair: 2019
• Nevada Library Association Member 2004-2017
o RAISON Chairperson: 2006-2007
o Annual Conference Chair: 2008
o Mentoring and Leadership Committee Co-Chair: 2012-2013
o PLATO Division Chair: 2014-2016
o Government Relations Co-Chair: 2016-Present
• Public Library Association Member: 2005-Present
o PLA Annual Conference 2011 Programming Subcommittee
o PLA Legislation and Advocacy Committee: 2013-Present
• American Library Association Member: 2004-Present
o New Members Round Table Member: 2004-2006
o YALSA Member: 2007-2010
o Social R esponsibilities Round Table: 2010-Present
• Coordinator-Elect: 2012-13
• Coordinator: 2013-16
• Representative for SRRT on Budget and Planning Assembly 2012-Present
• REFORMA: 2008-2011
o Children’s Book Reviewer for the Quarterly Newsletter
11. Describe your network of connections with library professionals and library stakeholders in California. I worked with many library professionals from across the state when planning the CLA Conference in 2019. This included some Directors and staff at all levels to coordinate a successful and educational three-day event. In addition to that, I sit on the Southern California Library Cooperative Administrative Council, working closely with directors from across Southern California to provide shared resources to our patrons.
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