2008 Multnomah County youth champion award winner
Sara Ryan has dedicated her career at Multnomah County to infusing the voices of youth in the delivery of Library services. This is no small feat seeing that Multnomah County Libraries has the highest circulation of any library system in the Country! Sara worked to create voting positions for youth on the Library Advisory Board and helped create systems of support for the Board’s youth members. Sara also piloted teen advisory councils for individual branch libraries and now has a network of teen advisory councils for most neighborhood branches throughout the system.
She has helped young people exercise their voice by helping them host teen specific events at libraries, including engaging youth in the development of youth lounges at branch libraries, as well as engaging youth in the purchasing of materials for circulation.
In Sara’s personal life her commitment to young people continues where she is a successful author of young adult literature including the award winning novel Empress of the World. Sara won the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults Award and is an Oregon Book Award winner. Sara has also worked on several graphic novel projects and is a strong advocate of the inclusion of zines and other youth-friendly materials into library collections locally and nationally.
Posted on September 19, 2008
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