Re-Envisioning the MLS Speaker Series Featuring Sari Feldman

On May 4 from 4-7pm, we will host our final Re-Envisioning Speaker Series event

Sponsored by the iSchool, the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC), and the ALA Student Chapter at the University of Maryland at DC Public Library’s MLK Jr Memorial Library.

Sari Feldman, ALA President-Elect, will discuss Keeping Pace: Recasting the Library Professional. Her presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with leading library and information professionals (more information about the panelists is available here):

  • Stacey Aldrich, State Librarian, Hawaii,
  • Priscille Dando, Coordinator, Library Information Services, Fairfax County Public Schools,
  • Rachel Frick, Director of Business Development, Digital Public Library of America,
  • Lucy Holman, Director, Langsdale Library, University of Baltimore, and
  • Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director, DC Public Library.
See below for Sari’s bio and an RSVP link. The event will also be streamed live at: go.umd.edu/FeldmanMLS. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Please RSVP here: http://ter.ps/FeldmanMLS to attend online or in person.


Sari Feldman is Executive Director of Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), a position
she has held since 2003. Under her leadership, CCPL has become one of the nation’s best and busiest public library systems, earning the Library Journal 5-Star recognition for five consecutive years (2010-2014).

Prior to joining CCPL, Sari was Deputy Director of Cleveland Public Library, the nation’s third largest public research library. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from State University of New York at Binghamton and a Master’s in Library Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She previously served as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, teaching graduate courses in library management, reference services, policy and grant writing for more than 20 years. She was honored in 1995 with the Vice President’s Award for Teacher of the Year.

In May 2014, Sari was elected president of the American Library Association for the 2015-2016 term. She is a past president of the Public Library Association (2009-2010). Sari’s local civic involvement includes serving as president of the board of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and as well as an appointed member of the City-County Workforce Development Board.

In 2013, Sari was honored with the Public Library Association’s Charlie Robinson Award for innovation in library service. She was named a Woman of Note by Crain’s Cleveland Business in 2011 and received the 2008 Jane Donelson Player of the Year Award from the USA Toy Library Association, the 2005 YWCA Woman of Achievement award, the David C. Sweet Leadership Academy Alumni Community Leadership Award, and the Leadership Academy’s 2002 Community Impact Award. Sari is a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2004.

Her past civic involvement includes:

  • Founding Board Member of OneCommunity;
  • Board Member of the Literacy Coalition;
  • Advisory Task Force of the PlayhouseSquare Education Department; and,
  • Cuyahoga Valley Organizational Design Collaborative member.

Sari is a member of the American Library Association, Beta Phi Mu, the Ohio Library Council, and the Public Library Association. She has presented on public libraries both nationally and internationally and written widely for professional publications.