Saturday, December 14
11:00 – 12:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
We all belong in our communities. Finding our community can sometimes be a difficult task, but hearing stories of how characters overcome isolation and loneliness through seeking out their community can give us the ideas and courage to take on that task. Everyone belongs at the Indianapolis Liberation Center and all kids are invited to the December Liberated Readers storytime to hear more about how you belong in our independent community space. Our reader is Indiana Black Librarians Network member Khrisma McMurray. Khrisma loves children and had plans to become a children’s librarian even though her career path brought her to University Library at IU Indianapolis. Her specialized training in children’s librarianship is a win for our Liberated Readers looking for something fun to do during the frosty winter month.
Khrisma worked for the Library of Congress in their Young Readers Center and Literacy Initiatives Office. In addition, Khrisma writes relationship-focused children’s books for youth in nontraditional family structures that jumpstart difficult conversations surrounding the intense emotions and experiences they encounter daily. You can find her books under her pen name, Khrisma Antoinette. Ultimately, she is on the journey of providing windows, mirrors, and sliding doors to the diverse world around us.
Belonging can be based on multiple factors, but is generally associated with our feelings. When we feel that we belong somewhere, we often feel good about going to those places and being around the people in that space. IBLN creates a sense of belonging to our members and our community partnerships. We believe that a diverse library workforce is a healthy workforce that can strengthen our community’s sense of belonging in libraries where we can explore our diverse interests and meet new people. Liberated Readers happens on the second Saturday of every month for kids ages 0 to 8 years old and their adults.
IBLN started in 2001 to build the foundation of belonging. We support Black library workers throughout the state of Indiana and provide critical support in information resources to the communities we serve. Our wide ranging skill set is meant to enhance and enrich our work environments and communities we serve from rural libraries, to public libraries, to academic libraries, and all libraries that foster education, belonging, and lifelong learning.
