Children Programming » NEFLIN Expertise Database

Links to previous presentations: 
NEFLIN Marketing Project Presentation:  Promoting LearningExpress Library
Makerspace Petting Zoo Presentation

Hello, my name is Kate Duong (pronounced “dwong,” in case you’re wondering) and I am the Youth Services Librarian for the Columbia County Public Library. I received my undergraduate degree in English from the University of Florida, and my Graduate MLIS Degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I’ve been with CCPL since 2015 and I absolutely love what I do. In my previous professional life I was a high school English teacher, which has left me with an enormous amount of respect for educators and what they do as well as a personal goal to engage with and build connections with my local schools.

I hate sitting at my desk and much prefer building LEGO towers, reading books in a funny voice, or making a huge mess that I promise to clean up later. I am especially happy when I get to do more than one of these things all on the same day.

My approach to programming for the most part could be described as “un-programming” Adults, teens, and children all need opportunities to explore and be creative, and the library is one of the few safe spaces left that allow for that. It takes a lot of pre-planning before the actual event, but open play and creativity are entirely possible without anarchy! I like to think of it as organized chaos.

My time spent trying to engage and teach teenagers and then learning how to dance like a fool in front of a room full of small children and parents has left me with zero sense of shame. I like to think that’s why I enjoy doing presentations – nothing can scare me anymore. This means that I tend to get volunteered to do them a lot. I will also always be your audience participation volunteer – so pick me!