Spotlight Interview: Barbara Stripling

WG:  If elected, how would you plan to support the provision of library services for incarcerated and detained youth?

Barbara Stripling: I have already been involved with supporting the provision of library services for incarcerated and detained youth by helping to develop the “Prisoners’ Right to Read: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” as a member of ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee.  This interpretation was approved by ALA Council in 2010 and is now part of the Intellectual Freedom Manual.  I will continue to support any policy or intellectual freedom document that addresses the rights of these young people and provides ALA support for librarians serving these youth.

I will support the strengthening of the librarian community and addressing the issues of those who serve incarcerated youth by supporting the efforts of ASCLA and connecting its members with members in other divisions and ALA at large who are concerned with these issues.  In fact, I plan to focus, as ALA President, on making ALA more inclusive by opening the communication lines from members to ALA and from member to member (through a more collaborative structure for ALA Connect, for example).

Finally, I hope to foster more opportunities for members to contribute to the shared expertise of all members through the flexible formation of interest groups, the facilitation of conversations among all types of librarians (both virtual and face-to-face), and increased access to virtual professional development.