Civic, Education, and Social Innovation Lead Symposium on the Future of Libraries Schedule

A co-working space that supports innovation and positive social impact in communities. The meaningful intersection of buildings, spaces, and communities to create authentic places for personal connection. Personalized learning, education technology, and education reform. These are some of the leading topics at three plenary sessions launching each day of the 2019 Symposium on the Future of Libraries.

Saturday’s social innovation session will feature Sarah Studer, managing director at Impact Hub Seattle, a locally rooted, globally connected coworking space in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. More than just an open office, Impact Hub gathers a diverse community of members and collaborators who inspire, connect, and encourage positive social impact in Seattle. Studer is a force at Impact Hub, evidenced by the bold spirit and enthusiasm conveyed in her weekly newsletters, always seeking new and creative ways for companies and organizations to partner and support the Seattle community.

Sunday’s civic innovation session will feature Lesley Bain, principal at FRAMEWORK, a multidisciplinary design and planning firm focused on cultural placemaking. Bain’s work focuses on art, activation, and communication. Projects like a Traveling Street Lounge, Pavement Parks, and World Cup Alleys work across partners to envision better public spaces that bring people together.

Monday’s education innovation session will feature Betheny Gross, senior research analyst and research director at the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). Gross leads CRPE’s analysis of personalized learning initiatives and is an authority on systemic strategies to help families access school choice.

Each plenary session is scheduled from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. in the Washington State Convention Center, room 611 / 612. The Symposium on the Future of Libraries is included with full registration for the Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits.

A Full Schedule of Learning

In addition to morning plenary sessions, the Symposium includes over 30 concurrent sessions spread across three days – Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of Midwinter.
» see page 4

Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo to Speak on Saturday

Sylvia Acevedo has worn many hats: engineer at IBM, rocket scientist at NASA, award-winning entrepreneur, commissioner on the White House Initiative for Education Excellence for Hispanics, and currently CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA. In Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist (Camino a las estrellas: Mi recorrido de Girl Scout a ingeniera astronáutica), Acevedo’s memoir aimed at young readers (available now), retraces her journey from a young girl in an underprivileged New Mexico neighborhood to becoming one of the most accomplished and insightful women in modern history. She tells her story as part of the Auditorium Speakers Series, Saturday, January 26, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. in Seattle.

As she struggled with the aftermath of loss, the difficulties of her home life, and the poverty in her neighborhood, the trajectory of her young life changed when she joined a local Brownie troop. The Girl Scouts taught her how to take control of her world and nourished her love of numbers and science. With new confidence, Acevedo navigated shifting cultural expectations at school and at home – forging her own trail to become one of the first Latinx to graduate with a master’s in engineering from Stanford University and going on to become a rocket scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Acevedo’s absorbing story of overcoming obstacles with confidence, hard work, and education is an inspiration to people of all ages. She continues her work motivating and inspiring children to achieve their dreams.

Acevedo’s appearance is sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Add to your schedule now.

Eric Klinenberg to Deliver Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture

Eric Klinenberg is a professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. His latest book, Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life (available now), makes the provocative case that the resilience of our communities, rests not on shared values but shared spaces: the libraries, day-care centers, bookstores, coffee shops, and community gardens that create crucial, sometimes life-saving connections between us. Klinenberg will present the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture on Saturday, January 26, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

The highly-regarded sociologist’s recent article written for The Guardian, Palaces for the people: why libraries are more than just books offers his views on the importance of libraries and how they can offer a place for respite, as well as one for social bonding.

His previous books include, Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, and Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America’s Media. He also coauthored, with Aziz Ansari, the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Modern Romance.

In addition to writing books and scholarly articles, Klinenberg is the editor of Public Culture, a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal of cultural studies. He has also contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Time, and The Washington Post.

Klinenberg’s appearance is sponsored by Penguin Random House.