Posts by Kim Horton

Over the last 14 years, Library Strategies has worked with nearly 200 libraries across the country, ranging from small, rural libraries to large, multi-branch, metropolitan systems.  We’ve learned a number of lessons in this work, and the first is, that the despite the differences, libraries share in their missions, purposes, approaches and core services.  That…

I feel like Goldilocks every time I check in with my governance committee – Is it too much? Too little? Just right? These questions are in reference to my communication with The Friends’ Board who, like all of us, are learning to balance the simultaneous responsibilities of work, family, education, and public health in new…

Come (virtually) close, my friends, I must be very honest with you. I’m not good at change. There are a great many psychological reasons for this, none of which it would be appropriate to get into now. (I was going to write “in public,” but I’m working on a memoir. Make of that what you…

Kim’s professional bio is featured this month, but the more interesting story is that she fell into fascination with communications as a child when she realized that grocery stores guided your shopping by placing the milk in the back, making you wander past all manner of other things you might want to get to what…

Greetings from the Remote Work Bubble! It may seem that things are extra uncertain right now, but at the risk of getting very internet psychologist, all things are uncertain. Today it is pandemic, but tomorrow might be sudden budget cuts. Unknowns are unknowns. In times like this it helps to have a steady hand at…

For the last month, my colleague and I have been making the rounds to Saint Paul’s library branches. The goal of these meetings has been to pin down what sort of adult, reader/writer centered programming each branch would like to have supported by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. It’s almost a no-brainer…

Tisidra is passionate about creating systems that allow more people to thrive. As an artist, lawyer, and entrepreneur, she works at those intersections to connect with individuals and communities; design and create more holistic programs and policies; and try to expand access to economic opportunities for more people. Tisidra has studied the power of the…