Naidoo elected ALSC 2018-2019 president

Jamie Campbell Naidoo, Ph.D., Foster-EBSCO Professor at The University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS), Tuscaloosa, has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). In accordance with the Leadership Transition Plan adopted by the ALSC Board of Directors in March, Naidoo assumes his duties as ALSC vice president immediately.

“I am deeply honored that ALSC membership has elected me to serve during this extremely critical time for libraries,” Naidoo said. “I eagerly anticipate listening to and working with ALSC members to help move our organization forward in the best ways possible to provide excellence in library services to all children from all cultural backgrounds.”

Naidoo earned his MLIS in 2000 from the University of Alabama, where he went on to receive a doctorate in Communication & Information Studies in 2006. Before joining the University of Alabama SLIS in 2008, Naidoo was assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, School of Library and Information Science (2006-2008). Prior to that, he served as an elementary school library media specialist (2000-2003) for Shelby County Schools in Alabama, and also held various positions in Alabama public libraries from 1998 to 2006 including head of youth (children’s and young adult) services.

Naidoo has been an ALSC member for 14 years, and an ALA member for 19 years. He is also a member of the Young Adult Library Services Association; Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table; Social Responsibilities Round Table; and REFORMA, an ALA affiliate. Naidoo currently is the ALSC/ALA liaison for the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Board of Directors. He is also chair of the 2017 Batchelder Award Committee and a member of the ALA Diversity Research Grants Advisory Committee. Naidoo served on the ALSC Board of Directors (2012-2015) and has worked on many ALA, ALSC, YALSA and REFORMA committees since 2006.

In addition to his work within ALA and REFORMA, Naidoo is director of the National Latino Children's Literature Conference. A passionate advocate for diversity, he has published numerous articles, book chapters and books related to library services to culturally diverse children and their families. Most recently, he co-authored “Once Upon a Cuento: Bilingual Storytimes in English and Spanish” (ALA, 2016) with Katie Scherrer. He has received many awards and honors, including the 2016 ALA Achievement in Library Diversity Research Award and the 2015 Humanitarian Award from the Alabama Library Association.

Three members were elected to serve on the ALSC Board of Directors: Linda Ernst, King County Library System, Mercer Island, Washington, director-at-large; Sue McCleaf Nespeca, Cashtown, Pennsylvania, director-at-large; and Amy Sears, Teaneck (New Jersey) Public Library, director-at-large.

The newly elected board members will be seated to the ALSC Board of Directors in June 2017, at the close of the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

Individuals elected to serve on the 2019 Caldecott, Newbery, Sibert and Wilder Committees are:

2019 Caldecott:  Farouqua Abuzeit, Boston Public Library; Shannon Horrocks, Snohomish (Washington) Library; Jonda McNair, Clemson University, South Carolina; Ruth Quiroa, National Louis University, Chicago; Amanda Struckmeyer, Madison, Wisconsin; Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills (California) Public Library; Gwen Vanderhage, Brodart, Lynden, Washington; and Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, Connecticut.

2019 Newbery: Sarah Park Dahlen, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota; Sondra Eklund, City of Fairfax Regional Library, Virginia; Robbin Friedman, Chappaqua (New York) Library; Gregory Lum, Clark Library, Portland, Oregon; Abigail Morales, San Diego County Library, Lemon Grove, California; Stephanie Rivera, Glen Ellyn (Illinois) Public Library; Sue Rokos, Mohawk Valley Library System, Schenectady, New York; and Terrell Young, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

2019 Sibert: Robin Howe, King County Library System, Woodmont Library, Des Moines, Washington; Ed Sullivan, Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Margaret Tice, Brooklyn, New York; Jade Valenzuela, Simms Library, Albuquerque (New Mexico) Academy; and Eva Volin, Alameda (California) Free Library.

2019 Wilder: Carol Edwards, Littleton, Colorado; Amy Kellman, Pittsburgh; and Cindy Lombardo, Cleveland Public Library.

Betsy Orsburn, prior to her resignation from the office of ALSC president in March, appointed the following award committee chairs: Mary Fellows, Upper Hudson Library System, Albany, New York, 2019 Caldecott Award Committee chair; Ellen Riordan, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, 2019 Newbery Award Committee chair; Kathy Jarombek, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, 2019 Sibert Award Committee chair; and Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, 2019 Wilder Award Committee chair. Current President Nina Lindsay will appoint the remaining members of these committees, as well as members of ALSC’s other prestigious award committees this fall.

ALSC, a division of ALA, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit their website .