The Movers & Shakers from UW-Madison Libraries

Library Journal, a widely read publication for librarians, chooses 50 individuals each year as Movers & Shakers of the profession. Movers & Shakers are “the people shaping the future of libraries.” Movers and Shakers are recognized for their passion “about what all types of libraries can do to enhance lives—for adults, teens, schoolchildren, infants, and toddlers.”

UW–Madison Libraries are extraordinarily proud to announce that out of the 50 finalists chosen, 3 of them come from our tight-knit and strong community.

Erinn Batykefer and Laura Damon-Moore are graduates of UW–Madison’s School of Library and Information Science, class of 2012. With a mutual love of art, libraries, and the creative intersection of the two, Batykefer and Damon-Moore co-founded the Library as Incubator Project. The mission of the Library as Incubator Project is “to promote and facilitate creative collaboration between libraries and artists of all types, and to advocate for libraries as incubators of the arts.” The LaIP actively tweets to over 6,000 followers, plus has a presence on Facebook and Pinterest. Batykefer and Damon-Moore began a sister site, the Book to Art Club, and are working on a book titled The Artist’s Library: A Field Guide (Coffee House) scheduled to be published this May. Read more about these two talented librarian-artists here.

Omar Poler teaches Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums (TLAM) at UW-Madison’s SLIS. He also graduated from SLIS, class of 2010, and works as the Associate Outreach Specialist there. The TLAM project is one of the only programs of its kind in the United States, and strives to form a discussion for students about “American Indian information issues, including indigenous languages, tribal histories, colonization, and cultural sovereignty.” TLAM has both a class for students and a group: in class, students can discuss issues and begin projects; in the group, students can continue to invest time and energy into the same projects. Poler is also at the center of Convening Culture Keepers, a “series of networking and professional development opportunities with the goal of supporting the delivery of culturally relevant information services in the American Indian communities of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.” Read more about Poler and TLAM here.

One of our newest team members, Lesley Moyo, who recently accepted the position of Associate University Librarian for Public Services was named a Mover & Shaker back in 2003.

Two more SLIS graduates received recognized for their STE(A)M-based (Science, Techology, Engineering, (Art), Mathematics) programming in Youth Services. Elizabeth McChesney, class of 1988, is currently the Director of Children and YA Services at the Chicago Public Library. She redesigned the library’s summer reading program into the Summer Learning Challenge. Amy Holcomb, Youth Services Librarian at the Northbrook Public Library in Illinois, lets her young patrons experiment with everyday items in her Mad Scientist program. She also lets young writers publish books and ebooks in two programs, Apprentices of the Book Empire (ABE), for children in grades two to six, and Born Digital, for sixth to 12th graders. McChesney and Holcomb are both 2014 Movers & Shakers.

The UW-Madison Libraries are so lucky to know these skilled, interesting and accomplished individuals. They are just one of the reasons the Libraries are so great!