Spotlight on Safety: Addressing Threats in Public Libraries

Panelists

Maria McCauley is director of libraries for the City of Cambridge (MA) where she oversees administration, finance, facilities, and operations across seven libraries. She began her library career twenty-three years ago at the Cambridge Public Library in circulation and reference services. Before returning to Cambridge, she served as the director of libraries in Santa Monica (CA), director of libraries for the City of Somerville (MA), and held several library positions at Northeastern University (Boston, MA). She is president of the Public Library Association, has served on the American Library Association’s Executive Board, and is on the Board of Advisors of Beacon Press.

Justin Lock is the senior counsel to the director for the US Department of Justice, Community Relations Service (DOJ CRS). The DOJ CRS is the department’s “peacemaker” in community disputes arising out of race, color, and national origin, and is empowered to prevent and respond to community tensions resulting from violent hate crimes on the basis of these three categories as well as gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and religion. Justin previously served as special assistant for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) issues and as a conciliation specialist in the San Francisco Field Office and CRS Midwest Regional Office. He is a graduate of Chicago Kent College of Law and Brown University.

Manya Shorr became the director of the Fort Worth (TX) Public Library in 2017 and was named 2020 Texas Librarian of the Year by the Texas Library Association. She is passionate about the positive impact libraries have on individuals, families, and communities. Prior to joining the Fort Worth Public Library, Manya served in different library leadership positions across the country.

Leah Esguerra is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and is the nation’s first full-time library social worker with San Francisco (CA) Public Library (SFPL). Leah supervises the SFPL Social Service Program, which consists of a team of health and safety associates who are library outreach workers with lived experiences. Under Leah’s supervision, the library social service team has received national and international attention in the library community and proved to be a model on which other libraries have created their own programs. Prior to working at the SFPL, Leah worked as an intensive case manager and clinical supervisor for the Department of Public Health for eight years. She also worked as a child therapist and children’s advocate for five years at a domestic violence shelter in San Francisco. Leah served as co-chair of the PLA Social Work Task Force from 2018–2020. She speaks internationally on providing social services in a library setting and as an advocate for people experiencing homelessness and mental health issues.

Dustin Koopman is the director of security at Mid-Continent Public Library (Independence, MO) and is responsible for its thirty-four branches and four administrative support buildings. Dustin has trained multiple libraries and staff members on security practices in libraries. Prior to working for Mid-Continent, he was a law enforcement officer who spent nearly a decade in the Greater Kansas City area. Dustin received his master’s degree in organizational leadership, and is a member of Sigma Beta Delta national honor society.