Jo Budler is a librarian from Kansas who served as the State Librarian of Kansas from 2010 to 2017, the sixteenth state librarian. [1]
Budler was an effective advocate for digital content in the state of Kansas, helping consolidate purchasing of digital items to save money for Kansas residents. [1] She also communicated directly to Kansas residents how the ebook business worked for libraries, as well as served on the national Ebook Task Force of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies. [2] [3] Her work won her Library Journal's Librarian of the Year award in 2013. [4]
Prior to coming to Kansas, Budler was appointed state librarian of Ohio in 2004. [2] She also served as deputy state librarian of Michigan, as well as a librarian in the Legislative Reference Library in Nebraska. [2]
Budler grew up in Queens. She studied at Syracuse University and the University of Iowa, and got her LIS degree from UI in 1975 after receiving an MFA in The Iowa Writer's Workshop in 1974. [2] [5]
Topeka is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 126,587. The Topeka metropolitan statistical area, which includes Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, and Wabaunsee Counties, had a population of 233,870 in the 2010 census.
Charles Curtis was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover and the Senate Majority Leader from 1924 to 1929. A member of the Kaw Nation born in the Kansas Territory, Curtis was the first Native American to serve in the United States Congress, where he served in the United States House of Representatives and Senate before becoming Senate Majority Leader. Curtis also was the first Native American to serve as Vice President.
The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hall of the House of Representatives, which was then renamed National Statuary Hall. The expanding collection has since been spread throughout the Capitol and its visitor center.
Education in Kansas is governed at the primary and secondary school level by the Kansas State Board of Education. The state's public colleges and universities are supervised by the Kansas Board of Regents.
Jessamyn Charity West is an American library technologist and writer known for her activism and work on the digital divide. She is the creator of librarian.net. She is the Vermont Chapter Councilor of the American Library Association, and was Director of Operations at the group blog MetaFilter from 2005 to 2014. West owns MetaFilter.
Library Journal is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice. It also reviews library-related materials and equipment. Each year since 2008, the Journal has assessed public libraries and awarded stars in their Star Libraries program.
The Kansas State Capitol, known also as the Kansas Statehouse, is the building housing the executive and legislative branches of government for the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in the city of Topeka, which has served as the capital of Kansas since the territory became a state in 1861, the building is the second to serve as the Kansas Capitol. During the territorial period (1854–1861), an earlier capitol building was begun but not completed in Lecompton, Kansas, and smaller structures in Lecompton and Topeka were where the territorial legislatures met.
Mark Vincent Parkinson is an American businessman and former politician serving as head of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). He served as the 47th lieutenant governor of Kansas from 2007 to 2009 and the 45th governor of Kansas from 2009 until 2011. He was also a state legislator.
The State Library of Kansas is a department within the state government of Kansas, with locations in Topeka and Emporia. Ray Walling was appointed acting State Librarian in June of 2022. On January 19, 2023, Walling was confirmed by the Kansas Senate as the 18th Kansas State Librarian.
Oletha A. Goudeau is a Democratic member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 29th district since 2009—the first African-American woman in the Kansas Senate. Most recently, she is the Senate Assistant Minority Leader.
Laura Jeanne Kelly is an American politician serving since 2019 as the 48th governor of Kansas. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 18th district in the Kansas Senate from 2005 to 2019. Kelly was elected governor in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Kris Kobach. She was reelected in 2022, narrowly defeating Republican nominee Derek Schmidt by a 2.21% margin.
The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas.
Jean Kurtis Schodorf is an American politician. She is known for being a three-term Republican Kansas state senator and was the Democratic Party nominee for Kansas Secretary of State in 2014. She was defeated on November 4, 2014 by incumbent Kris Kobach by a margin of 59%-41%.
The Topeka State Hospital was a publicly funded institution for the care and treatment of the mentally ill in Topeka, Kansas, US, It was in operation from 1872 to 1997. Located at 2700 W 6th Street, the hospital opened in 1879, after the Osawatomie State Hospital, once thought to be sufficient, became overcrowded with mentally-ill patients.
The Librarian of the Year Award is an annual award made by Library Journal to "honor a professional librarian for outstanding achievement and accomplishments reflecting the loftiest service goals of the library profession". It was first awarded in 1988. Although it is often referred to as the "National Librarian of the Year Award", any working professional librarian from North America is eligible.
Michelle De La Isla is an American politician who served as the mayor of Topeka, Kansas from 2018 to 2022. She previously served on the Topeka City Council from 2013 to 2018. De La Isla was the city's first Latina and single mother to serve as mayor. She was the Democratic nominee for Kansas's 2nd congressional district in the 2020 election, but lost.
The Iowa Library Association (1890) is a professional organization for Iowa's librarians and library workers. It is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. It was founded on September 2, 1890, in Des Moines, Iowa at the State Library in the Iowa State Capitol, by Ada E. North, Librarian at the State University of Iowa in Iowa City; State Librarian Mary Miller, T.S. Parvin of the Iowa Masonic Library, Clara M. Smith of the Burlington Public Library, and Clara C. Dwight of the Dubuque Y.M. Library. It is the second oldest state library association in the country.
Patricia "Patty" Wong is the city librarian of Santa Clara, California. Wong was the president of the American Library Association (ALA) for the 2021–2022 term and is the first Asian American president of the ALA. She has been on the faculty at the San Jose State University iSchool since 2006, teaching subjects such as equitable access to library services, library management, and library services to young people.
Ruth Garver Gagliardo was an American educator known for her work in developing library services for children. Gagliardo was referred to as the "Kansas Book Lady" for her efforts in promoting books and advocating for resources for teachers and parents. She held several prominent leadership roles in national organizations, including serving as the vice president of the National Parent Teacher Association and as president of the Association for Library Service to Children. Gagliardo's creation of a traveling book exhibit is credited with the start of book fairs in the United States.
Esther Walls was an African American librarian and an international advocate for literacy. She is known for her work in the New York Public Library and with the Franklin Book Programs advocating for literacy in developing nations around the world.