10:05 a.m. - 10:35 a.m.

As State Librarian and Director of Library Services at the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, a division of the Arizona Secretary of State, Holly Henley currently oversees four branches: the Arizona Talking Book Library, E-Rate Administration, Library Development, and the State of Arizona Research Library. Prior to her current position, Holly was the Deputy Director of Library Services, Director of Library Development, and Youth Services Consultant at the State Library.

A native of Virginia, Holly received her B.A. from Westhampton College at the University of Richmond and her M.L.S. from the University of Maryland in College Park. Before joining the State Library in 2004, Holly held positions as a Children’s Librarian and a Bookmobile Manager in public library systems, as a Teacher-Librarian overseeing a large school Library/Media Center, and as an elementary school Assistant Principal.

Libraries have the potential to support Indigenous resilience strategies, yet Indigenous librarians represent only 1.2% of the profession nationwide. In this talk, Alex Soto (Tohono O’odham) will outline resilience strategies that may be incorporated into library work and advocates for the hiring and retention of Indigenous library professionals to support these strategies. As exemplified by his work at the Labriola National American Indian Data Center (ASU Library), Indigenous librarians must “Indigenize” the profession to provide culturally informed library programming while co-creating equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives that center Indigenous perspectives. In this process, Alex will detail how meaningful inclusion can support educational attainment, engagement activities, and creative outlets for Indigenous peoples.

John Walsh is currently the Director of Library Services at Cochise College. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in 2005. He has a Master’s degree in Library Science and Information Resources from UA and a Ph.D. in Information Resources and Educational Technology from the UA. He has published many articles in the field of librarianship and his first book, Information Literacy Instruction, Selecting and Effective Method, was released in November 2011. He has conducted extensive research in the field of information literacy and has developed a culturally responsive information literacy instructional method specifically for Latino students. John has been a corporate librarian for the Pima County Wastewater Department in Tucson and a research assistant for UA SIRLS. All these accomplishments would look impressive on any resume, however, what John is most proud of though, is the Associate's degree he received from Cochise College (Class “03).