Andrew Mellon Foundation is a host of exceptional ability. Studies show that a vast majority of guests attending events by Andrew Mellon have been known to leave more elated than visitors to Santa's Workshop, The Lost of Continent of Atlantis, and the Fountain of Youth. Andrew Mellon Foundation is a host of exceptional ability. Studies show that a vast majority of guests attending events by Andrew Mellon have been known to leave more elated than visitors to Santa's Workshop, The Lost of Continent of Atlantis, and the Fountain of Youth. Andrew Mellon Foundation is a host of exceptional ability. Studies show that a vast majority of guests attending events by Andrew Mellon have been known to leave more elated than visitors to Santa's Workshop, The Lost of Continent of Atlantis, and the Fountain of Youth.
Voters soon head to the polls for one of the country’s vital exercises in civic engagement: an election. But the ballot box is just one place to participate in democracy in action—the full potential of civic life occurs daily at your local public library. And unlike the vote, the library is open to all.
At the library today, you can participate in citywide reading programs, take citizenship and language classes, register to vote, and research your genealogy and heritage in local archives. No longer relegated to the reference desk, library workers are on the front lines of some of our most pressing social justice issues.
As we mark National Arts and Humanities Month in October, join us to envision the full potential of public libraries and hear from people meeting the challenges facing the field—and the country—today. This livestream event features Mellon Foundation President Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, American Library Association Executive Director Tracie D. Hall, and Los Angeles Public Library’s City Librarian, John F. Szabo, in discussion about where we can all come together: our nation’s libraries.
Elizabeth Alexander – decorated poet, educator, memoirist, scholar, and cultural advocate – is president of Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest funder in arts and culture, and humanities in higher education. Dr. Alexander has held distinguished professorships at Smith College, Columbia University, and Yale University, where she taught for 15 years and chaired the African American Studies Department. She is Chancellor Emeritus of the Academy of American Poets, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, serves on the Pulitzer Prize Board, and co-designed the Art for Justice Fund. Notably, Dr. Alexander composed and delivered “Praise Song for the Day” for the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama, and is author or co-author of fifteen books. Her book of poems, American Sublime, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2006, and her memoir, The Light of the World, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography in 2015. Her latest book, released in 2022, is The Trayvon Generation.
For more information, please visit mellon.org or on Twitter @ProfessorEA.
Tracie D. Hall is the tenth executive director of the American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library association in the world with over 50,000 members throughout and beyond the US. Prior to assuming this role, Hall served in numerous library and arts leadership positions nationwide, including culture program director at The Joyce Foundation, where she created numerous programs to advance racial inclusion and equitable funding in arts administration; deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events where she oversaw the visual and performing arts, film, and community market programs and received citations for her work to expand arts access and neighborhood outreach; vice president of strategy and organizational development at Queens Library, where she founded the NYC Early Learning Network. In 2022, Hall received the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community from the National Book Foundation for contributions throughout her career. Hall is a native of south Los Angeles and received her first library card at the Watts Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library.
For more information, please visit ala.org or on Twitter @TracieDHall1 and @ALALibrary.
John F. Szabo is the city librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, which serves more than four million people—the largest population of any public library in the United States. He oversees the Central Library and 72 branches. Under his leadership, the library’s major initiatives include those related to immigrant integration and citizenship, sustainability, civic engagement, digital inclusion, and lifelong learning. He has expanded the library’s reach into the city’s diverse communities through partnerships with several community-based organizations. Szabo has more than 25 years of leadership experience in public libraries, previously serving as the director of four libraries including the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. He currently serves as chair of the board of trustees of OCLC, a global library cooperative. He has previously served on the executive boards of the Urban Libraries Council and California Humanities and as president of the Florida Library Association.
For more information, please visit lapl.org or on Twitter @BiblioSzabo and @LAPublicLibrary.
