A: I was around 10 and saw at my local library in North Carolina that there was a student library ambassador program that asked for an essay on what the library means to you, and there\u2019d be a chance to go to DC to speak on behalf of libraries. The library has always been a big part of my life. We went on a big bus from Raleigh to DC, got a tour of statues and historical markers, then met with congressmen. Each kid got chance to talk about what the library means to them. I spoke about how it supported my homeschooling. Everyone\u2019s story was different; the library is unique to everyone in their own way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: What is the value of libraries? <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A: It\u2019s such a great utility for people to use, for school, for your job, learning languages, or something you want to do for fun \u2013 the value is unmatched. From story time to adult years, I don\u2019t care how old you are \u2013 everyone can use the library. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: What\u2019s one way that people can show their support for libraries? <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A: One of the best ways people can show their support is to use your local library, and to share library events and resources with friends and folks in your community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: How do you see yourself using and supporting libraries in the future? <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A: I always see myself using libraries, for the rest of my life. If I move somewhere, the first thing I\u2019m going to do is see what library is close to me and check it out, see what it offers that is different or the same from my last library. That\u2019s never going to change for me. People may take the library for granted or not realize how important the library still is, but people should be thankful for the library and use it as a community gathering space. The library is free and it is for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meagan Albright and Alizdair Sebastien Ray at story time, with Alizdair as a guest reader (2009)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Angela Renay Hughes-Ray, Jamie Segno, Alizdair Sebastien Ray, and Meagan Albright reunited at the NSU Alvin Sherman Library (2022). <\/p>\n\n\n\n This post addresses ALSC competency V: Outreach and Advocacy <\/em> All photos courtesy of the blogger.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Be inspired by youth library advocate Alizdair Ray, whose earliest library memory (storytime at age 3) led to his role as a student library ambassador. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341,"featured_media":33933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[2043,1],"tags":[253,1801],"class_list":["post-33931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-awareness-and-advocacy-committee","category-uncategorized","tag-advocacy","tag-public-awareness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Q: Why did you become a library ambassador?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/alizdair-guest-reader-488x650.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/alizdair-visits-the-library-650x488.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Meagan Albright, Manager of Youth Services for Cambridge Public Library, is writing this post on behalf of the Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee. She can be reached at <\/em>malbright@cambridgema.gov<\/em><\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n