PHILADELPHIA PA (January 21, 2020)–Philadelphia leaders and innovators will share their visions for the future at three Libraries Transform sessions during the
Symposium on the Future of Libraries
at the
2020 ALA Midwinter Meeting
.
Libraries Transform: Civic Innovation
, on Saturday January 25th from 8:45 – 10:00am in the Pennsylvania Convention Center Room 201-ABC, considers the future of place, for both
established cultural institutions and for new civic spaces activated throughout communities. Anuj Gupta, General Manager of the
Reading Terminal Market
, will share his experience leading one of the nation’s oldest and largest public markets, keeping pace with the changing needs of customers while staying true to its service to the community. Ariel Ben-Amos, Founder of
StreetBoxPHL
, promotes a vision for placemaking in cities, creating green spaces, parklets, and pedestrian areas that foster development and make neighborhoods healthier and more vibrant.
Libraries Transform: Social Innovation
, on Sunday January 26th from 8:45 – 10:00am in the Pennsylvania Convention Center Room 201-ABC, shifts the focus to the human scale, exploring the societal changes required to create more just and equitable communities. Mariana Chilton, Professor of Health Management and Policy and Director of the
Center for Hunger-Free Communities
at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health, will discuss her organization’s community-engaged approach to research, service, and advocacy, engaging those who have experience with poverty as full partners in developing solutions to hunger and economic justice. Joanna Visser Adjoian, Co-Director of the
Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP)
, focuses her organization’s work on mitigation, reentry planning, training, and policy reform to help keep children out of adult jails and prisons and bring home those who were sentenced as children to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Libraries Transform: Education Innovation
, on Monday January 27th from 8:45 – 10:00am in the Pennsylvania Convention Center Room 201-ABC, explores the future of education access, highlighting two programs that provide new opportunities to their communities. Malik Brown, Executive Director of
Graduate! Philadelphia
, will share Graduate! Philadelphia’s model for engaging business, higher education, government, organized labor, and community-based organizations to remove barriers and create new pathways for adults to complete a college degree. Dara Ruiz-Whalen, Chief Learning Officer and Executive Director of the
eCLOSE Institute
, leads a network of scientists, teachers, and students working as scientific investigators in their classrooms, offering students training in professional laboratory research and the problem solving, collaboration, communication, and networking skills for career success.
Sponsored by
ALA’s Center for the Future of Libraries
, the
Symposium on the Future of Libraries
features forty sessions exploring the near-term trends already inspiring innovation in libraries and the longer-term trends that will help libraries adapt to the needs of communities. The Symposium on the Future of Libraries is included with full registration for the 2020 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits.