Good morning, colleagues.
I am pleased to share the news that Kristin LaVanish and Brianna Crum have been hired as the Accessible Adult Service Advisor and Operations and Relationships Advisor, respectively.
Kris will focus on adult, special needs and underserved populations, including, but not limited to veterans, older adults, incarcerated people, and people with disabilities, as well as advise on LAMP and workforce development in libraries. Kris served half a million residents of Sonoma County, California for 13 years. Her last role being the Adult Events Coordinator before spending almost 4 years as a rural library director for Milford Public Library in PA. Every library Kris connected with from the Pennsylvania library field has been committed to hard work and dedicated to their service, and she is excited to join BLD to support those same libraries in increasing awareness around accessible adult services to better serve their communities. When not focused on library services Kris likes to spend time playing with her dog Booker, writing, being with family and friends, and playing Wordle.
In her new position, Bri will focus on policy making, management best practices, job descriptions, conflict resolution, strategic planning, and building collaborations and relationships with municipalities and other stakeholders for all types of libraries in the Commonwealth. Bri has served in various roles in public libraries over the last 14 years. For the last 8 years, she has served as the District Consultant for the Capital Area Library District, providing support to public libraries in Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry counties. Bri finds joy in developing and sustaining connections both within and across organizations, building relationships with library staff and partners in the community, and communicating the positive impact libraries have on all Pennsylvanians. In her non-work life, Bri spends most of her time with her two children, her husband, and three cats. She enjoys reading across a variety of genres, spends time crocheting, and walking outdoors.
They are both excited for their new chapters and look forward to working with you all!
Heather
Heather Sharpe, MLIS | Director, Bureau of Library Development
Office of Commonwealth Libraries | Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street | 11th Floor | Harrisburg PA 17126
Office: 717.783.0565 | Mobile: 717.903.1819 | www.statelibrary.pa.gov
The Bureau of Library Development (BLD) in the Office of Commonwealth Libraries supports libraries and library services for Pennsylvanians through the administration of state and federally funded programs and grant opportunities including LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act), Library Access, LAMP (Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians), the Public Library Subsidy, and Keystone Grants for Public Library Facilities. BLD also provides advisory services, professional development, and continuing education for library staff and volunteer leadership at public, school, academic, and special libraries.