Cindy Hohl is a librarian working for the Kansas City Public Library. In 2023, Hohl was elected as president of the American Library Association for the 2024–2025 term. She previously served as the president of the American Indian Library Association and currently serves as the treasurer of the Freedom to Read Foundation.
Early life and education
Cindy Hohl is a member of the Santee Sioux Nation of Nebraska.[1] She attended Friends University to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management and leadership in 2012.[2] Hohl went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from Baker University in 2016 and a Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University in 2021.[2]
Career in librarianship
Hohl worked in marketing and communications before transitioning to a career in librarianship, in part because of the encouragement of her husband, who is also a librarian.[3] Her first position in a library was as a customer experience manager at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, where she worked from 2014 to 2017.[3][2] In October 2017, she became the Director of Branch Operations at Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) in Missouri.[2] In 2022, she took on the position of Director of Policy Analysis & Operational Support at KCPL.[2]
Service to librarianship
In April 2023, Hohl was elected as president of the American Library Association (ALA) for 2024–2025.[3] After her election was announced, she discussed her intention to lobby against library defunding and book bans, which have significantly increased in the United States since 2021.[3] Hohl is the second Native American to be elected president of ALA, after Loriene Roy.[3]
From 2020 to 2021, Hohl was the president of the American Indian Library Association, working to advocate for the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives.[1] In that role she was a steering committee member on the Joint Council of Librarians of Color.[4] She is the co-chair of the Spectrum Scholarship Advisory Council, which recruits Black, Indigenous, and people of color to the library field.[3] Hohl has co-chaired ALA's Working Group to Condemn White Supremacy and Fascism and has been a member of ALA's Rural, Native, and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds Committee.[5][3] Hohl is a board trustee and the treasurer of the Freedom to Read Foundation as well as serving as a standing member on the Indigenous Matters Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Kansas City Public Library's Cindy Hohl Elected to National Office". Kansas City Public Library. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Cindy Hohl". LinkedIn. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Brooks IV, Lawrence; Kraske, Steve; Wilson, Zach (14 April 2023). "The American Library Association has elected its first president from Kansas City". KCUR. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Diaz-Camacho, Vicky (16 September 2022). "Students, Librarians and Bookstore Owners Push Back on Book Bans". Flatland. Kansas City PBS. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "ALA Committee on Diversity" (PDF). American Library Association. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "Library's Cindy Hohl Elected to National, International Positions". Kansas City Public Library. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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