2022 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Committee

(Chair) Dr. Catharine Bomhold is an Associate Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Southern Mississippi. She has been teaching graduate classes in children’s and young adult literature for 18 years. She is the co-author of Twice Upon a Time: A Guide to Fractured, Altered, and Retold Folk and Fairy Tales (Libraries Unlimited, 2008) and Build It, Make It, Do It, Play It!: Subject Access to the Best How-To Guides for Children and Teens (Libraries Unlimited, 2014), as well as scholarly articles on information seeking. Her new book, Serving the Underserved: Populations and Strategies for Success will be published by ALA Editions in fall, 2022.

Dr. Kim Becnel is a professor of Library Science at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina and a former children’s librarian and youth services manager for public libraries in Louisiana and North Carolina. She earned her MLIS and Ph.D. in literature and language from the University of South Carolina. She teaches course in management, literature, cultural competency, and organization of information. Youth literature, intellectual freedom, and distance pedagogy are her areas of research interest.

Nichole Brown is an ACEs Aware, Trauma Informed Children’s Librarian II at the Oakland Public Library in California.  She is a rock star with the 0 – 5 year old demographic because she mastered storytime programs with puppets; and using her annoying pipsqueak like voice to bring book characters in a book to life.  Her superpower is encouraging reluctant readers of all ages to read the first chapter of the books she recommends.  When she is not encouraging teenagers to read age appropriate (although not necessarily parent approved) literature, she helps adults with their information service needs. It should come as no surprise to learn that in addition to being an excellent public service librarian, Nichole is a strong advocate for children and young adults.  Nichole is passionate about providing quality library service to all and reading with reckless abandon. 

Brooke Cruthirds is the assistant curator of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection in the Special Collections of the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries located in Hattiesburg, Ms. She holds master’s degrees in both Cultural Anthropology and Library and Information Sciences. Special interests include a wide range of literature, local histories, music and ethnicity. She currently has two precocious children, an over-indulged cat and two axolotls under her care.

Jewel Davis is an Education Librarian in a PreK-12 Curriculum Materials Center at Appalachian State University. She works with pre-service teachers and practicing teachers on selecting and evaluating youth literature, using instructional technologies, and developing practitioner-based research skills. Many of her workshops have focused on building inclusive classroom libraries by examining representation in youth literature. As a former high school English teacher, Jewel is devoted to advocating for youth and promoting the use of authentic texts. Jewel is active in local and national youth organizations including the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE and the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Community.

Danny Glasner began as an elementary homeroom teacher, but he has been a technology coach, learning support, and for the past six years a primary school library/media specialist and whole school teacher librarian in Vietnam. The library brings many of Danny’s passions together; love of reading, technology, diversity, justice, mindfulness and service all with a heavy dollop of empathy. It’s a safe space, where the entire learning community is made to feel welcome and seen. Danny utilizes his network to bring people together, to help children connect ideas, and to amplify their actions by broadening their audience. His passion for connecting people and ideas inspired him to start up #inTLlead, a grassroots teacher librarian leadership group, and #inTLchat, a Twitter hashtag and chat that connects librarians all over the world. He also joined #PubPDAsia as one of the founding city hosts. He is also a founding member and ally of #wlead, a women’s leadership group in education.

Gina Kromhout (she/her) is the Teen Services Librarian at the Avon Lake Public Library west of Cleveland, Ohio. She obtained her Bachelor’s of Education and MLIS at Kent State University. She is currently the ALA Councilor for GameRT and a 2018 ALA Emerging Leader. She is often called upon at her library for her knowledge of anime, manga, video games, comic books, and tabletop RPGs to patrons and coworkers alike. She can speak Japanese (thanks to two years’ instruction and a minor in Asian Studies) but she can’t read much more than a Japanese children’s book. Gina and her husband live in Lakewood, Ohio with their dog, three cats, and a whole lot of nerdy stuff.

Sarah Swan (Assistant to the Chair) is a public school librarian — a field that allows her to combine her greatest passions of travel and storytelling. Sarah particularly loves working to bring stories from outside the United States into her students’ lives, as well as learning everything she can about the literary canons her English-language learners love so much. She has a Master of Letters degree in Victorian Literature from the University of Glasgow, and a Master of Library Information Science degree in School Library Media from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Sarah hopes to continue her education through doctoral research in the field of international youth literature.