LIBRARIES for ALL

Rooted in the Stacks

I think of the child, like myself, who walks through the doors of the library and discovers not only marsupials on distant continents, tales of the sea, the recipe for a first soup, but along the way reads themselves into being.

My AADL Board run is inspired by that vision, and is rooted in over a dozen years working in public libraries. As an Ann Arbor parent, American Library Association member, and volunteer for an early-education nonprofit, I know literacy is the foundational key to lifelong health, opportunity, and richness of life.

I’m running to be an AADL Board Trustee to place books and literary first, stand unyielding against censorship and for the freedom to read, and welcome community engagement and outreach throughout our district.

Libraries are vital democratic sanctuaries and we must be vigilant against commodification and ensure our library sites remain true community assets, not value-added amenities for “luxury” developments.

Above all, the library is a shared commons – funded by taxpayers – to realize our highest social aspirations, and it must remain fiercely centered on true public benefit.

  • Literacy must remain at the very heart of the Ann Arbor District Library. I will prioritize substantive collections and core services, defend and expand early literacy programs, and support readers of all ages so AADL continues to ignite imagination and the joy of turning a page.

    • The community must drive decision-making, welcomed directly into open, public workshopping of plans to avoid performative engagement.

    • Support the people who power our libraries by guaranteeing every worker a living wage—moving away from a reliance on what the library currently classifies as "casual," unbenefited positions.

    • Expand mobile outreach—a neighborhood-reaching Book Mobile that brings the joy of the stacks straight to local parks, senior centers, and children's spaces, making sure our library radiates out to every corner of the district.

  • We must ensure our library sites remain true community assets, not value-added amenities for “luxury” developments.

    Any redevelopment above the Downtown branch must prioritize deep affordability and true public benefit.

My Priorities

Endorsements

Kristy Cooper

Ypsilanti Library Board President

Yousef Rabhi

Washtenaw County Commissioner & former State Representative

Chris Tebbens

Ypsilanti Library Board Treasurer

Chris Crockett

Community High Librarian (Ret.) 
& Local Historian


Get Involved

"The dedication of a library is in itself an act of faith... a Nation must believe in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgment in creating their own future. Among democracies... the building of permanent institutions like libraries and museums for the use of all the people flourishes. And that is especially true in our own land, because we believe that people ought to work out for themselves, and through their own study, the determination of their best interest rather than accept such so-called information as may be handed out to them by certain types of self-constituted leaders who decide what is best for them."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt, remarks made at the official dedication of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, on June 30, 1941.