I have deep knowledge of our profession.  I have been working in libraries since taking a library class in high school (1987:  I can remember filing typed cards in the good old card catalog). I think my work experience at all levels of libraries since then gives me a point of reference for library employees of all kinds:  I’ve been a page, a clerk, an on-call librarian, a youth services librarian, a teen librarian, a supervisor, an assistant director, and finally a director.  I have worked for a county library, a city library with multiple branches, a small city library, and now a medium sized city library.  I originally hail from a rural part of the country (Wilson, Kansas population 700), and I understand what it means to have one tiny library (and one stop light). But I’ve also worked in an urban setting, a suburban setting, and an exurban setting.  I’ve worked with parents, teachers, teens, preschoolers, day care providers, local organizations, Friends of the Library, politicians, unhoused populations, adults with special needs, the chamber of commerce and people who don’t speak the same language as I do.

I am clear about what I believe CLA’s role to be in the professional lives of librarians in California.  I am a connector by nature, and love meeting and talking to people, then connecting them together in some way.  CLA serves that same purpose for librarians throughout the state, and I want to be influential in extending and deepening those connections through an exciting conference, revitalized interest groups, and encouraging local meet-ups where we can gather as librarians to share experiences and knowledge.  

Connections at the state government level is also a role that CLA plays; as President I will continue to support CLA’s effort through our Advocacy & Legislation Committee to spread the word to our state politicians on the value and importance of libraries and librarians. 

I am a white, cis male.  I understand that I come from a place of privilege.  But as a gay man from a very small, very straight town, I know intimately how it feels to be an outsider.  As president, I want to support and encourage CLA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, not only so that CLA’s DEI initiatives thrive and grow, but that we all work towards the vital goal of creating a more diverse profession.  

Finally, I bring to role of President an institutional knowledge of CLA.  I was elected to the CLA Board of Directors in 2018, and then elected as Secretary of CLA in 2021. I know how CLA works from inside out, and I am familiar with CLA’s conference planning, budget, and committee work.  

If elected, I look forward to working together with all of you for a common goal:the growth of CLA after the tough years of the pandemic.

Candidate Questions

1. How do you define Leadership?  For me, leadership is defined by past leaders and their actions.  My favorite president, for example, was Harry S Truman. “The buck stops here” was the sign on his desk; he also (likely apocryphal) said “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead led to a significant shift in how I thought about leadership. “In a daring leadership role,” she writes. “IT’s time to life up our teams and help them shine.” Alaska Thunderf*ck, a famous drag queen, said “Part of being smart is knowing when your dumb” in a podcast I was listening to; I will add “and then you aren’t afraid to admit that aloud.”  Finally, he’s not real, although he’s real to me: Bilbo Baggins said “Never laugh at live dragons” and that’s good advice for all us trying to survive in a political world. 

2. Why are you interested in this position? I am a ball of energy.  When I walk into a room, my aura proceeds me like a lightning bolt; people jump. I am enthusiastic, passionate – but not rash (read: I’ve learned not to be rash). I am a fan doing, not a fan of inaction.  I like people and I like seeing people succeed. I’m trustworthy and honest. I’ve turned these personality traits into an engine for personal and professional change.  I want to continue using this engine to help our profession and my colleagues thrive from a platform of statewide leadership and through the power of the California Library Association. 

3. How would you describe your personal leadership communication style?  In Dare to Lead, Brené Brown asks us to choose two values from a long list of possibilities.  After much thought, I chose “harmony” and “knowledge.”  I live into these values, and they effect my communication style. I like to create harmony through speech and actions.  I believe firmly the old adage that “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”  I also like knowing things and having those around me know things too (transparency when you can be, honest about why you can’t be).  

4. What strengths would you bring to the position?  If you do a Venn diagram of arts and literature, time and experience, extensive community collaboration and connectivity, library experience and leadership, emotional intelligence, and eagerness for new programs and services with an appreciation for the past – and a great sense of humor – you will find me sitting in that sweet middle spot.  

5. What experience do you bring to this position?   I have a deep working knowledge of California Librarian Association after my years of serving on the board.  I have an extensive network of colleagues throughout the state.

6. What issues or trends are particularly informing your work at this time?  Intellectual freedom is front and center.  At my library, we’ve been working on creating a progression of literacy, so we can assist you with your literacy wants and needs from infancy through adulthood.  I also think veterans resources and workforce development are of vital importance.  Leadership building and succession planning are also imperative.  Making our library profession more diverse is important too.  Last but not least, loneliness and isolation as part of the pandemic; we need more occasions to meet-up in person as librarians to network, exchange ideas, and build professional camaraderie; loneliness is a real problem, and it can be part of CLA to alleviate isolation.

7. Who were the thought leaders (in libraries were in other fields) who interest you?   I’m reading ALL the time, and a great variety of things.  Here are just a few thinkers whose ideas have been rattling around in my head recently.

• Sister Corita Kent was a nun and art teacher at Immaculate Heart College, and if you’ve never read her Art Department Rules, please stop reading this and go google them now.   Just two highlights: “Rule 4: Consider everything an experiment.” “Rule 8: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time.  They’re different processes.”  These ten rules are not just for art, but they work well for our professional personal lives as well.
• Oliver Burkeman wrote a book called Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.  Four thousand weeks is the approximate number of weeks we get in life.  It’s an amazing book (I highlighted a record – for me - 93 passages).  Many nutshells to this book. Here is one: you are going to fail at something on your to do list, and that's perfectly okay. Another: we are time, and time is a barrage of choices. Two roads diverge in a yellow wood all the frickin' time (Robert Frost, he KNEW), and we have to choose. There are more; I can keep going on, but you should go read the book.
• I heard a podcast on Stoicism and how it’s hot again (a pendulum swining back and forth for three thousand years) so I’ve been reading the Roman emperor and stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations.  “The world is maintained by change” is just one little nugget.  

8. Who are the regional and statewide stakeholders libraries need to be in communication with?  I’m originally from a very small farm town in Kansas, and rural libraries are always on my mind.  What are more ways we can support rural libraries and librarians?    

9. Describe your experience serving on association committees and/or interest groups.  I have been quite active in CLA, attending and presenting at conference, conference planning, Night Track planning, and planning meetups.  In 2018, I was elected to the Board of Directors, and in 2021 was elected Secretary.   I am currently conference co-chair for 2023

10. Describe your network of connections with library professionals and library stakeholders in California.   I know many, many people throughout at the state.  But my three primary networks in the last few years have been through Inland Library System (where I was elected as an Executive Council Member-at-large), my Eureka! leadership fellowship in 2010; and my annual planning and presenting the Serving With A Purpose Conference for Friends, Foundations, Trustees and the library staff who work with them.