District 2

Welcome to District 2! Our district’s membership includes librarians, staff, trustees, full-time library students, and other interested individuals who support the library profession. Our membership represents all library types: school, public, academic and special. We are located in the Panhandle region of Texas.

District 2 includes 26 Texas counties with a total population of 402,862 covering over 25,823 square miles. Counties include: Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, and Wheeler.

The only major metropolitan area in this region is Amarillo (MSA pop. 268,691 as of the 2020 Census). Other cities with populations over 10,000 include Borger, Canyon, Dumas, Hereford and Pampa.

District 2 Fall Meeting

When: September 26, 2023

Meeting registration and a light breakfast is from 8-9 a.m. The meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register for for the District 2 Fall Meeting on the TLA website.

Where: Amarillo Public Library downtown,  413 SE 4th Ave, Amarillo, TX 79101

Our first speaker will be Donalyn Miller, an award-wining teacher and the author of The Book Whisperer, Reading in the Wild, and Game Changer: Book Access for All Kids. She will present The Joy of Reading. Avid adult readers find reading personally meaningful and enjoyable. While motivation and engagement remain important factors influencing young people’s reading development, prioritizing joyful reading eludes many school communities. Why does reading enjoyment matter? What components foster reading joy? In this presentation, Donalyn Miller will frame the importance of reading joy and share practical ideas and resources that offer students positive reading experiences.

Our second speaker will be Tom Krause. Tom is a retired educator with over 23 years of national speaking experience. He is also a 25-time contributing author to the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Tom will present You Make a Difference!  This heart-warming, humorous presentation is designed to help you combat negativity by making you feel appreciated and motivated for the difference you make in the lives of the patrons you serve. Tom served as a coach and teacher in Missouri’s public schools for 31 years. He is also the author of Touching Hearts-Teaching Greatness, The Little Boy’s Smile, TEENAGERS – You Will Make It!, Who Takes Care of the Caretakers?, and A Christmas Lesson.  School, academic, and public librarians will all benefit from this inspiring presentation.

Our third and fourth speakers will be our very own Leslie Whitaker and Bruce Wardlow. Leslie currently serves as the library director for Claude ISD, and Bruce Wardlow serves as the OER Librarian at West Texas A&M University’s Cornette Library. Together, they will present There’s 1A in Library. In the spring of 2023, Cornette Library at WTAMU hosted 50 junior and senior high school students from Claude High School, a local 1A high school, as a pilot program to build relationships not just between the university library and the school library, but between West Texas A&M University and those local students. These students received library instruction, the opportunity to use University library resources, a free lunch, and a campus tour. This pilot program involved multiple University departments, and the teacher was given the opportunity to check books out for classroom use. Come learn about the lessons learned through this pilot program and how your school can get involved.

District 2 Officers

Chair:  Shaun McDonald (Amarillo Public Library)
Chair Elect:  Heather Finsterwald
Councilor:  Josh Wilson (Canyon ISD)
Alternate Councilor:  Catherine Urban  (Amarillo Public Library)
Past Chair: Madison Ferril (West Texas A&M University)
Webmaster:  Mary Rausch (West Texas A&M University)

Follow District 2 on Facebook!

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to District 2 members Shaun McDonald and Leslie Whitaker for being selected as 2023 TALL Texans!

Save the Date!

The District 2 Fall Meeting will be on Tuesday, September 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Downtown Branch of the Amarillo Public Library. The District 2 meeting will be in the A/B Room. The HUG meeting will follow in the HLC Meeting Room for those attending both meetings.

Volunteer 

Interested in serving as a unit officer for District 2? Complete the volunteer form above to be considered for an officer position.

Operating Procedures

Meeting Minutes

District 2 Committees

By-laws Committee

Madison Ferril (2020-2023)
Emily Gilbert (2020-2023)
Kelly Hoppe (2020-2023)
Catherine Urban (2020-2023)
Leslie Whitaker (2020-2023)
Terri Wilson (2020-2023)

Membership Committee

Need 3 volunteers to serve on this committee.

Stipend Committee

Kelly Hoppe
Catherine Urban
Leslie Whitaker

Scholarship Committee (?)