Events
ALA Lecture Series: “Challenges, Responsibilities, and Advocacy at Every Stage—A Conversation with PLA President Sonia Alcántara-Antoine”
Event Start Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 5:00 pm
Event End Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 - 7:00 pm
Location: Hybrid: Edward St. John Building, Room 2208 & Zoom
Description:
UMD students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends—advocacy can be a part of every stage of your career. Join UMD College of Information Studies (INFO) alumni, current students, and Public Library Association (PLA) President Sonia Alcántara-Antoine for a conversation on present day challenges in the library field as well as advocacy tools and approaches that you can use to broaden your reach to elected leaders and community influencers, building a coalition of library movers and shakers over the course of your entire library career. This conversation will include students, educators, and practitioners from various career stages—meant to simultaneously inspire and inform. (Registration required.)
A reception with light refreshments will be be held from 5:00-6:00 PM and will be followed by the lecture at 6:00 PM.
Bio:
Sonia Alcántara-Antoine is the CEO of Baltimore County Public Library, overseeing 19 branches, 600 dedicated staff and an annual budget of $45 million, as well as the current President of the Public Library Association (PLA). Prior to joining Baltimore County Public Library, she was director of Newport News Public Library and held leadership positions at Virginia Beach Public Library and Enoch Pratt Free Library. Alcántara-Antoine is active in PLA as well as the Urban Libraries Council, where she serves on the Antiracism and Digital Equity action team and is a member at large for the Maryland Association of Public Library Administrators’ board of directors. An American Library Association Spectrum Scholar, she holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Florida State University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Old Dominion University.
Additional Information:
Please contact ischoolevents@umd.edu at least one week prior to the event to request disability accommodations. In all situations, a good faith effort (up until the time of the event) will be made to provide accommodations.
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Speaker(s): Sonia Alcántara-Antoine