Circulating Ideas

Steve chats with Stephanie Chase and Hillary Ostlund from Hillsboro (OR) Public Library, about their paths to librarianship, working with a diverse community, going deskless, and blowing up their organizational structure.

Read the transcript.

Stephanie Chase is the Director of Libraries for the City of Hillsboro, Oregon. 

With more than twenty years of experience in local and municipal government, serving communities ranging from the small and rural in New England, resort communities, and some of our largest urban centers on both the east and west coasts, Stephanie is an accomplished innovator and change leader, with significant experience leading organizational design and effectiveness and community engagement initiatives.

Prior to Hillsboro, Stephanie coordinated service strategies to libraries for BiblioCommons, was the Director of Library Programs and Services for The Seattle Public Library, a founding member and inaugural chair of national advocacy organization LibraryReads, and founded the Green Mountain (VT) Library Consortium, a statewide consortium serving 150 member libraries. In addition, Stephanie  currently serves on the Public Library Association’ Board of Directors and the American Library Association’s governing Council.

Hillary Ostlund is a Manager for the City of Hillsboro’s Library department. She currently leads the library’s Cultivate team, focused on staff development, training, and employee engagement. A continuous learner with a background in design thinking, Hillary is always looking for ways to bring inspiration and ideas into the workplace while matching people’s strengths to their work. 

Hillary is extremely passionate about public services – especially the role libraries play in communities – with notable training in leadership and development. She is excited to hold a leadership position at the City of Hillsboro’s Library and loves being part of an innovative and inspiring municipal government.

SHOW NOTES:

Hillsboro Public Library
“Going Deskless” [PDF]
“No More Silos” [PDF]
“Hillsboro unveils tiny library kiosks across city parks”

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Becky Spratford and RA for All. Readers’ advisory is a core concept for libraries and you want your staff trained by the best. Back in 2007, librarian Becky Spratford was working at a public library and teaching the readers advisory class at Dominican University but wanted to do more to compile her best ideas and save the very best of her students work, so she started a blog, RA for Allas a way to showcase and catalog it all. The blog is now one of the most trusted and respected RA tools available. After 15 years of public service, Becky transitioned into being a full time consultant in 2015 and provides RA training to library workers all over the world. If you are interested in hiring Becky to present at your library’s staff day, your state library conference, or wherever library workers are learning (either in person or virtually), go to raforall.blogspot.com to preview sample past programs, see her current schedule of events, listen to Becky talk about RA service, and obtain basic pricing. Click the RA for All logo at the top of the blog to find her contact information and if you mention Circulating Ideas, you will get 10% off if you book by the end of 2019.

Steve chats with Sari Feldman, newly-retired Executive Director of Cuyahoga County Public Library and former president of the Public Library Association and the American Library Association, about lessons learned as ALA President, the current library ebook landscape, her legacy at Cuyahoga County, and how she will continue to work within the profession.

In August 2019, Sari Feldman retired as Executive Director of Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), a position she held since 2003. Under her leadership, CCPL was recognized as one of the nation’s best and busiest public library systems, earning the Library Journal 5-Star recognition for ten consecutive years.

Sari is a past president of the American Library Association. During her term as president, Sari initiated a national public awareness campaign called Libraries Transform that was designed to increase awareness of and support for libraries of all types. She also is a past president of the Public Library Association (2009-2010). 

Sari received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from State University of New York at Binghamton and a Master’s in Library Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She previously served as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, teaching graduate courses in library management, reference services, policy, and grant writing for more than 20 years. She was honored in 1995 with the Vice President’s Award for Teacher of the Year.  

In 2013, Sari was honored with the Public Library Association’s Charlie Robinson Award for innovation in library service. She was named a Woman of Note by Crain’s Cleveland Business in 2011 and received the 2008 Jane Donelson Player of the Year Award from the USA Toy Library Association, the 2005 YWCA Woman of Achievement award, the David C. Sweet Leadership Academy Alumni Community Leadership Award, and the Leadership Academy’s 2002 Community Impact Award. Sari is a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2004. 

Sari currently writes a regular column for Publishers Weekly and presents on library transformation and innovation to audiences around the world.

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Becky Spratford and RA for All. Readers’ advisory is a core concept for libraries and you want your staff trained by the best. Back in 2007, librarian Becky Spratford was working at a public library and teaching the readers advisory class at Dominican University but wanted to do more to compile her best ideas and save the very best of her students work, so she started a blog, RA for Allas a way to showcase and catalog it all. The blog is now one of the most trusted and respected RA tools available. After 15 years of public service, Becky transitioned into being a full time consultant in 2015 and provides RA training to library workers all over the world. If you are interested in hiring Becky to present at your library’s staff day, your state library conference, or wherever library workers are learning (either in person or virtually), go to raforall.blogspot.com to preview sample past programs, see her current schedule of events, listen to Becky talk about RA service, and obtain basic pricing. Click the RA for All logo at the top of the blog to find her contact information and if you mention Circulating Ideas, you will get 10% off if you book by the end of 2019.

Steve chats with Cicely Lewis, library media specialist at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, GA, about Read Woke and other projects she has created for her students, her path from teaching to libraries, and how it feels to win so many awards in such a short period of time.

Cicely Lewis is the library media specialist at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, GA and is a 2019 Library Journal Movers & Shakers award winner for her work creating the Read Woke project. She is a lover of books first and her passion for technology has provided an opportunity to explore ways to help make learning more meaningful while integrating technology. She was a classroom teacher for the past twelve years and is now excitedly stepping into a new role as a leader in Literacy and Information Technology. She is currently working on a children’s book and many more exciting projects.

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Becky Spratford and RA for All. Readers’ advisory is a core concept for libraries and you want your staff trained by the best. Back in 2007, librarian Becky Spratford was working at a public library and teaching the readers advisory class at Dominican University but wanted to do more to compile her best ideas and save the very best of her students work, so she started a blog, RA for Allas a way to showcase and catalog it all. The blog is now one of the most trusted and respected RA tools available. After 15 years of public service, Becky transitioned into being a full time consultant in 2015 and provides RA training to library workers all over the world. If you are interested in hiring Becky to present at your library’s staff day, your state library conference, or wherever library workers are learning (either in person or virtually), go to raforall.blogspot.com to preview sample past programs, see her current schedule of events, listen to Becky talk about RA service, and obtain basic pricing. Click the RA for All logo at the top of the blog to find her contact information and if you mention Circulating Ideas, you will get 10% off if you book by the end of 2019.

Steve chats with Rebecca Vnuk, Executive Director of LibraryReads, about her current favorite reads, what LibraryReads is, and how library staff can get involved.

Rebecca Vnuk is the Executive Director of LibraryReads. She has an MLIS from Dominican University and worked as a public librarian before becoming the editor for Collection Management and Library Outreach at Booklist magazine. Rebecca is the author of three reference books on the topic of Women’s Fiction, as well as a best-selling book on weeding library collections. She was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker in 2010 and was the 2010 PLA Allie Beth Martin Award Winner for distinguished Readers Advisory Service. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and two tween sons (both of whom still love to read, whew!).

This episode of Circulating Ideas is brought to you with support from Becky Spratford and RA for All. Readers’ advisory is a core concept for libraries and you want your staff trained by the best. Back in 2007, librarian Becky Spratford was working at a public library and teaching the readers advisory class at Dominican University but wanted to do more to compile her best ideas and save the very best of her students work, so she started a blog, RA for All as a way to showcase and catalog it all. The blog is now one of the most trusted and respected RA tools available. After 15 years of public service, Becky transitioned into being a full time consultant in 2015 and provides RA training to library workers all over the world. If you are interested in hiring Becky to present at your library’s staff day, your state library conference, or wherever library workers are learning (either in person or virtually), go to raforall.blogspot.com to preview sample past programs, see her current schedule of events, listen to Becky talk about RA service, and obtain basic pricing. Click the RA for All logo at the top of the blog to find her contact information and if you mention Circulating Ideas, you will get 10% off if you book by the end of 2019.