UW iSchool alumni Georgia Lomax ('84), Eric S. Riley ('02), and Bernadette Salgado ('96) have all been named "Movers & Shakers," Library Journal's annual list of emerging leaders in libraries.
Lomax is Deputy Director at Pierce County Library System (PCLS) in Tacoma, WA, where she focuses on providing outstanding customer service. She and her staff work to provide unified service to patrons, connecting local branches with care facilities and homebound individuals.
"We focus on each service as a whole, not broken into components separated by where or how it is accessed or delivered, who does it, or how we do it," she is quoted as saying in Library Journal. Lomax also collaborated with the communications director of PCLS to publicize the lengthened hours, increased services for youth, expanded collections, and improved customer service and technology provided through a 2006 levy. Her efforts led to accolades from the local newspaper.
Riley currently works as a Branch Manager at the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Interim Library in Washington, D.C. He focuses on creative public programming and, with his staff, presents upwards of 40 programs every month. These range from the traditional story times and book discussions to more unusual offerings such as coed, co-age knitting groups, intergenerational Wii events, or even building catapults from popsicle sticks. His library will be expanding from the current 4,000 square foot space to a new, 20,000 square foot, three-story facility scheduled for completion this spring. His profile describes the way he has embraced community-building in his library.
Salgado is the Children's Section Supervisor for King County Library System (KCLS), in the City of SeaTac, WA. The library serves an extremely diverse population, with patrons from countries as far away as Somalia or India and as close as Mexico; nearly 75 percent of students in SeaTac qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. She is recognized for her work distributing free school supplies to students. This year, the SeaTac Back-To-School Resource Fair provided 800 backpacks filled with supplies and learning goodies to students, and also is offering free health screenings, haircuts, and hygiene products.
The full list and profiles of the 2010 Movers & Shakers can be found on the Library Journal Web site.