Building School Partnerships from the Ground Up

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Online (Zoom)

Libraries and schools share a common goal of promoting literacy, lifelong learning, and community engagement–yet getting in the door of your local school system can be challenging. The challenge is exacerbated when there is no school librarian as a central point of contact.

In this session, we'll share learn effective strategies for building collaborative partnerships that benefit both institutions and the communities they serve. From joint programming initiatives to resource sharing and outreach efforts, we'll delve into practical approaches that expand access to resources for students, educators, and families.

Join us as we work together to strengthen school partnerships whether the school district employs school librarians or not.

All ILA Noon Network webinars are free. The webinar recordings are available to ILA personal members shortly after the webinars. Registration for all live webinars is limited to Illinois libraries.

About the Speakers

Stephanie Brunner is a newly minted Youth Services Librarian at Algonquin’s Eastgate Branch, after serving as a youth outreach and programming specialist there since 2017. She has been an integral part of developing AAPLD's School Outreach programming and is beloved by families on the east side of town for her fun and unique programs. Stephanie loves working with school-aged children and has a special interest in children who are neurodiverse learners.

Stephanie received her BA in Elementary Education from Carroll University and recently finished her MLIS from the University of Illinois.

Kimberly Damitz is the School Outreach Librarian at the Algonquin Area Public Library District. There was no dedicated School Outreach position before she took the job in 2021, and with Stephanie’s help she has built a thriving program serving ten schools across two school districts.

Along with building school partnerships and promoting the public library in area schools, Kimberly does baby and toddler storytimes and runs the middle school book discussion group. She is passionate about nurturing literacy in children starting at birth, and is always excited to share books (especially nonfiction) with young patrons.

Kimberly earned BAs in Journalism and Women’s Studies from the University of Iowa and her MLIS from Dominican University. She has worked at the Algonquin Library since 2017.

Building School Partnerships from the Ground Up