Laura Brown

Experience

• 

  Music Library at Appalachian State University

  Jun 2006 - May 2008

  Student Worker

  •Responsibilities included providing assistance to library patrons, students, and faculty. •Bound and labeled books, shelved returned books, and performed regular shelf-readings.•Assisted patrons with the use of computers, copiers, printers and video equipment.

• 

  McGuireWoods

  May 2010 - May 2013

  Paralegal

  •Responsibilities included supporting attorneys in all stages of litigation through the closing of a case. •Drafted pleadings, memoranda, medical chronologies, correspondence, and other legal documents. •Maintained and organized database housing hundreds of thousands of case documents using eRoom, Relativity and Concordance software.•Performed legal research, background searches on witnesses, and preserved sensitive information using Lexis and Courtsearch.

• 

  The Durham Literacy Center

  Sept 2011 - Dec 2012

  Volunteer ESOL Tutor

  •Created lesson plans and instructed students in the English language for one hour each week. •Provided students with the English skills needed to find or maintain employment, participate in the education of their children, find adequate housing, and seek medical help.

• 

  Jackson Library, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  Aug 2013 - May 2015

  Reference Intern

  • Provides reference assistance to UNCG students, staff, faculty and public patrons in person, by phone and via online chat.• Assists with in-depth research questions and referring patrons to subject librarians as necessary.• Provides general directional and information services to library patrons. • Provides technical assistance to patrons using computers, printers, copiers and microfilm readers in the reference area.• Attends weekly training sessions provided by reference librarians covering various subject-specific research skills. Show less

• 

  The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)

  Aug 2014 - May 2015

  •Responsibilities include all aspects of project management for a web usability study and website redesign project for the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) ‘s website, VAWnet.org•Coordinate and administer focus groups and interviews regarding information needs for each user group identified for VAWnet.org website•Create user profiles and personas based on information gathered from focus groups and interviews •Observed several instruction librarians and a variety of different teaching styles •Team taught several first-year library instruction courses and two upper-level classes•Individually taught 25 hours of first-year library instruction classes•Created Libguides, lesson plans and handouts•Created an assessment tool based on experience to be used in the Spring semester

  • Graduate Assistant/Research Assistant-VAWnet Redesign Project

    Sept 2014 - May 2015

  • Library Instruction Practicum Student

    Aug 2014 - Dec 2014
• 

  Granville County Library System

  Sept 2015 - Aug 2016

  Adult Services Librarian

  • Created, planned, and implemented programs at each of the four library branches to meet the needs of the library’s adult patrons including: digital literacy classes, adult coloring program, and craft programs • Collaborated with staff and outside organizations to plan speaker events for American Indian Heritage Month, Black History Month, & Women’s History Month amongst others • Provided reference, readers' advisory, and referral services to patrons, in person and by telephone, and provided technical and computer support to staff andpatrons • Managed all aspects of collection development for Adult patrons at two branches including: selecting materials for purchase, weeding materials, and handling patron requests for purchases • Handled all aspects of project management for GCLS 2016 Summer Reading Program for Adults Show less

• 

  Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE)

  Aug 2016 - Jun 2019

  • Serves as PI for the North Carolina LiteracyCorps (NCLC)/AmeriCorps and Chapel-Hill Youth Forward grants, ensures the purpose of the grants is carried out and all required reporting is completed, and submits new and renewal grants • Plans and executes the annual Read.Write.Act Virtual Conference • Supervises two full-time and one part-time professional staff and 3-4 student employees • Oversees payments, outreach, and online training for SCALE members • Plans, prepares, and conducts in-person classes and trainings for student organizations and SCALE members Show less • Serves as PI for the North Carolina LiteracyCorps (NCLC)/AmeriCorps and Chapel-Hill Youth Forward grants, ensures the purpose of the grants is carried out and all required reporting is completed, and submits new and renewal grants • Plans and executes the annual Read.Write.Act Virtual Conference • Supervises two full-time and one part-time professional staff and 3-4 student employees • Oversees payments, outreach, and online training for SCALE members • Plans, prepares, and conducts in-person classes and trainings for student organizations and SCALE members Show less • Hires, trains, and supervises 40-45 America Reads and Counts tutors (UNC college students) during the academic year and during Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate/SCALE summer camp • Creates weekly trainings for UNC student tutors and develops and presents online trainings for SCALE members • Communicates and coordinates with Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools staff to match UNC tutors to K-5 elementary school students • Maintains and organizes America Reads & Counts resource library and website • Implemented new online system for SCALE Library to track inventory and search for books based on subject/content Show less

  • Executive Director

    Dec 2017 - Jun 2019

  • Interim Executive Director

    Jul 2017 - Dec 2017

  • Literacy Programs Director

    Aug 2016 - Jul 2017
• 

  Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

  Jul 2019 - Mar 2022

  Librarian

  • Taught monthly technology and digital literacy classes and trainings on a range of topics including: Canva Design, MS Office Suite, Cloud Basics, and Wordpress amongst others• Facilitated regular programming for adult patrons both virtually and in-person including financial literacy workshops, book clubs, information literacy classes, community conversations on social issues, and learning circles•Served as co-lead for Digital Inclusion team and assists with curriculum development for technology classes, document management, and training for staff on teaching digital literacy topics• Created Implicit Bias training for staff and regularly facilitates said training for new staff onboarding• Led effort to provide formal adult literacy programming initiative and assists with curriculum selection and development, data collection, and training for staff• Provided general reference and technical support to patrons at large regional library branch Show less

• 

  Chapel Hill Public Library

  Mar 2022 - now

  •Manages Library Experience division handling reference and readers’ advisory for adults and circulation for the library•Directly supervises three Library Experience Coordinators and two Library Experience Technicians•Assists with training and onboarding of new staff •Serves on library management team and participates in decision-making that impacts all aspects of the library•Schedules frontline shifts for approximately 28 Library Experience Assistants•Serves on library public programming, marketing and communications, readers’ services, and other teams tasked with managing library essential functions•Submitted successful grant proposal for $12,000 to support library services for neurodiverse patrons Show less

  • Assistant Director of Library and Community Arts & Culture

    Apr 2024 - now

  • Library Experience Manager

    Mar 2022 - Apr 2024