New EveryLibrary Institute Board to Advance Research and Training Agenda in 2019

New EveryLibrary Institute Board to Advance Research and Training Agenda in 2019

The EveryLibrary Institute, NFP is proud to announce the nomination of 15 outstanding library industry leaders to join its Board of Directors in 2019.

The board is charged with supporting and extending the EveryLibrary Institute’s core mission to understand and improve public and voter perception of libraries and librarians. Their role will include setting strategic priorities for the Institute’s research, publishing, training and programmatic agendas, along with building partnerships inside and outside of libraries for success.

Please join us in congratulating our new board colleagues:

Kyle Courtney, Harvard Library
Trevor A. Dawes, University of Delaware
Britten Follett, Follett Learning
Amy Garmer, Aspen Institute
Fran Glick, Baltimore County Public Schools
Sandy Hirsh, San Jose State University
Jill Hurst-Wahl, Syracuse University
Kafi Kumasi, Wayne State University
Steve Potter, Mid-Continent Public Library
Nedra Sadorf, Demco Inc.
MaryEllin Santiago, Gale, a Cengage Company
Rivkah Sass, Sacramento Public Library
Cal Shepard, State Library of North Carolina (retired)
Maureen Sullivan, Independent Consultant
Ann Weeks, University of Maryland

Board members will begin their terms in January 2019 at the EveryLibrary Institute’s Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA. The EveryLibrary Institute is a companion organization to EveryLibrary, the first national political action committee for libraries. Each are independent organizations with separate finances, budgets, and charters. EveryLibrary and the EveryLibrary Institute both share a common vision to improve library funding in the United States, but their organizational leadership and work are distinct. As the EveryLibrary Institute board grows its research, training and programmatic agenda, EveryLibrary will likewise continue its unique and important mission as a 501(c)4 organization to build voter support for libraries. These new EveryLibrary Institute board members will join current board members John Chrastka, Erica Findley, and Patrick “PC” Sweeney and will succeed Brian Hart, J. Turner Masland, Peter Bromberg, and Harmony Faust, who will remain solely on the EveryLibrary board.


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As we know from the 2018 “From Awareness to Funding” study (OCLC, ALA), there has been a dramatic slide over the last decade in the willingness of American voters to support library funding at the ballot box, and a troubling decrease in the image and perception of librarians by those voters. The EveryLibrary Institute was founded to advance a voter- and public-facing research agenda that identifies the messages – and tests the techniques – that will reverse these downward trends. Our training program is designed to improve the political literacy skills of librarians, staff, and boards in public, school, and academic libraries. We are committed to disseminating our findings, learnings, and best-practices for the entire library industry through an open access publishing program. The EveryLibrary Institute is aligned with programmatic partner organizations and funders who see school, public, and academic libraries as critical solutions to problems in education, civil society, and community well-being.

About the EveryLibrary Institute, NFP
The EveryLibrary Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works to systematically address the slide in public opinion and support for library funding among the American electorate by partnering with foundations, philanthropic organizations, associations, non-profits, and academic institutions to enhance public perception of libraries and librarianship through research-driven direct engagement with American society. Please visit everylibraryinstitute.org for more information.

For Immediate Release. Please contact:

John Chrastka
Executive Director
EveryLibrary Institute
[email protected]
312-574-0316