Join Kate Hall and Kathy Parker, authors of
The Public Library Directors Toolkit, as they discuss how to balance the responsibilities of being a director during a pandemic and three core areas of running a public library during a public health crisis and after. The four individual sessions will include library director jenga, personnel, emergency planning, and buildings. Each session will delve into each topic, have some group work and time for roundtable discussion. The sessions are intended for established public library directors and we encourage attendees to come ready to share their own insights and experiences.
Session 1- Library Director Jenga
Running a library is like playing Jenga. You need to work collaboratively to set up a solid base and then carefully move the pieces to ensure everything doesn’t come tumbling down. Challenging during the best of times, during a public health crisis this has become an even more daunting task. Learn the different pieces at play in a director’s life as you build a jenga tower and learn what to do when it comes tumbling down.
Presenters:
Kate Hall is the Executive Director of the Northbrook Public Library after serving as Director at the New Lenox Public Library and in various Youth Services positions in the Chicagoland area for over 20 years. In her decade as a library director, Kate has been very active in state and national library groups including the American Library Association, Illinois Library Association, and Reaching Across Illinois Library System. She has served on the committee and chaired Director’s University, an intensive training for new Illinois Public Library Directors that went virtual in 2020. She is the co-author of
The Public Library Director’s Toolkit published by ALA Editions and the devoted servant of two demanding cats.
Kathy Parker was the director of the Glenwood-Lynwood (IL) Public Library District from 2002-2018 after serving as Assistant Director at the Harvey (IL) Public Library. She has worked in public and private libraries for over 40 years in nearly every department and co-founded Director’s University. She has served on numerous state committees including the Illinois Library Association and has served as library trustee for her local library and the regional library system, Reaching Across Illinois Library System. She was the 2016 recipient of American Library Associations Trustee Citation award. After retiring in 2018, Kathy launched the kathyparker consulting firm which provides training to trustees and new directors. She is the co-author of
The Public Library Director’s Toolkit published by ALA Editions.
Note: It is not necessary to attend all the sessions. You many enroll in any and as many as you choose.
Code of Conduct
For questions, please email Erin Hunter, ehunter@lilrc.org.
Professional Development Hours: 1 (.1 CEUs)
FOR OUR PARTICIPANTS - We have implemented a two step verification process for security purposes and to maintain accurate attendance records. You will need both a LILRC and a Zoom account.
If you do not already have a LILRC account you will be prompted to create one (if you have forgotten your password, and need help resetting it you can email Eliscia at ecirrone@lilrc.org).
If you do not already have a zoom account you will be prompted to do so upon logging into the meeting. If this is the first time you are using Zoom, after you have created an account, you can join the meeting by entering the Meeting ID/ Password provided to you in the confirmation email. You can access all subsequent Zoom meetings by clicking the meeting link in the confirmation email.
