United for Libraries President’s Program to focus on ‘Challenges & Crises: Preparing Your Board of Trustees’

EXTON, Pennsylvania — The United for Libraries President’s Program, “Challenges & Crises: Preparing Your Board of Trustees,” will be held Friday, June 25, 10 a.m. CT at the ALA Annual Virtual Conference.

United for Libraries President David Paige, Trustee at Conway (N.H.) Public Library, will welcome Christine Jones, Jessica Hudson, Will Shorter, and Skip Auld, who will offer tips on how to train and prepare your library’s Board of Trustees in the event of a crisis.

What training and preparation does your Board of Trustees need to be prepared for a crisis? Do your policies properly address intellectual freedom issues? How do you handle it when a board member speaks against a board decision? What happens when a board member’s values clash with a board decision? Learn how to be proactive in developing a well-prepared board, and what best practices, policies, and procedures need to be developed or revisited. A panel of experts will include a library director and a member of that library’s Board of Trustees.

David Paige, 2020-21 United for Libraries president, has been a corporate at large member of the United for Libraries board since 2016. He has served on the Conway Public Library Board of Trustees since 2014 (as chair from 2016-2018 and treasurer since 2018). He has been a professional editor for 16 years, culminating in his current work leading a team of editors at Libraries Unlimited, who produce LIS textbooks and professional books for practicing librarians of all types. Paige also served on the board of the Friends of the Carpinteria (Calif.) Public Library from 2010–2012, where he worked with colleagues on successful fundraising efforts, including outside-the-box events and a “Save Our Library” campaign in response to drastic cuts to public funding.

Christine Jones has worked for Fairfax County Public Library in Fairfax, Virginia for 22 years.  Most of her career has been in library branches, where she worked a variety of positions from frontline librarian to branch manager.  She has been FCPL’s deputy director since 2016, during which time she has focused on leadership development, transparency, and equity.  Outside of work she is an avid listener to eaudiobooks, especially while involved in creative pursuits like enamel, soapmaking, and gardening with native plants.

Jessica Hudson has served as Director of FCPL since 2016. Prior roles included Director roles at the Contra Costa Library (CA), Nevada County Library (CA), and Tehama County Library (CA). Her work in Fairfax has focused on equity, access, and community engagement.

William Shorter, Jr., is Chairman of the Anne Arundel County Public Library Board of Trustees. He previously served as Second Vice Chairman of the Board. Shorter is the most recent recipient of the ALA Trustee Citation in 2021. He has previously served on two ALA panels: the United for Libraries webinar “Responding When COVID Comes to Your Library: Learning from Real Stories,” and “The Road Ahead: Libraries in an Uncertain Future” at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in January 2021. At 23, he is believed to be the youngest head of a library board in the nation.

Skip Auld, MLS, has been working in public and academic libraries across the East Coast for more than 40 years. Auld is Chief Executive Officer of the Anne Arundel County Public Library, a position he has held since 2010. Prior to his tenure in Anne Arundel County, Auld served as director of the Durham County Library in Durham, North Carolina, assistant director of the Chesterfield County (VA) Public Library and branch manager of the Carroll County Public Library (MD). He holds a Master of Science in Library Science from the University of North Carolina and a Certificate in Public Management from Virginia Commonwealth University. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Davidson College.

This program is presented by United for Libraries, the Intellectual Freedom Roundtable (IFRT), and the Chapter Relations Office (CRO).

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United for Libraries: The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations, is a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. To join, please visit www.ala.org/united or call (800) 545-2433, ext. 2161.