NORTH LIBERTY– The North Liberty Library will hold a second Lighthouse in the Library (LITL) event on Thursday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. The event marks one of the first events the library conducts in-person since the pandemic began in 2020; an option for virtual attendance, via Zoom, is available. The first LITL event, occurred virtually in April, focusing on food and wellness equity within North Liberty and its surrounding areas. The topic for the August event, aptly titled Re-Entry 2.0, provides a retrospective of how COVID-19 has impacted schooling and also a discussion of the upcoming year and what it means to move education forward in the aftermath of a pandemic.
Panelists for the event include Jennifer Carter, director of admission operations with the graduate management programs at the University of Iowa Trippie College of Business; Matt Degner, who served the Iowa City Community School District since 2013 and is currently superintendent; Mayasa Hamid, a junior who experienced the relationship between the pandemic and schooling firsthand; Renee Zukin, an educator and writer supporting inner healing for outer change; and Shawn Eyestone, an analytical lab manager and president of the ICCSD school board.
In January, the North Liberty Library was selected as one of 300 libraries to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative helping library workers better serve small and rural communities. The competitive award came with a $3,000 grant launching LITL as a quarterly community conversation series.
If interested in attending the event in person or virtually, contact Kellee Forkenbrock at [email protected] or visit northlibertylibrary.org for more information.
Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative reimagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.