Author: Intellectual Freedom Round Table

Emerging Leaders Team at Work on IFRT Project

Four members of the 2023 ALA Emerging Leaders cohort are now at work on a research project for the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. The project team, made up of Maya Bergamasco, Paul McMonigle, Sarah Colbert and Rach Wells, recently sent a survey to the library associations of all 50 states. The goal is to use the information they gather to create a resource for librarians facing materials challenges.

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IRFT Member Spotlight – Sam Jack

Sam Jack is the adult services librarian at Newton Public Library in Newton, Kansas – near Wichita. Sam received a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA in poetry from the University of Montana, then spent several years working as a journalist before earning an MLS from Emporia State University. He is three years into his career as a librarian. He serves as a member of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table’s Publications and Communications Committee, and was part of the 2022 class of ALA Emerging Leaders. Outside of the library world, Sam enjoys writing poetry and singing opera and classical choral music.

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IRFT Member Spotlight – Dorcas Hand

Dorcas Hand is a retired school librarian who faced a few materials challenges during her career, but none that reached the level of current events. She currently holds a seat on the board of the Freedom to Read Foundation and serves as the Retired Members Round Table liaison to the ALA Committee on Library Advocacy (COLA). Dorcas co-chairs the COLA Ecosystem Initiative Subcommittee and is the ALA Chapter Councilor for Texas.

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