Kathleen Deerr

Kathleen Deerr has been working with children and families in public libraries for the past three decades. For the past 10 years she has served as the national Family Places LibrariesTM coordinator. During that time, the number of libraries in the Family Places network has tripled. Recognizing early on that children's most important role models are parents and caregivers, she has developed many innovative, interdisciplinary programs that focus on parent-child interactions and has administered programs such as the Partners for Inclusion Project, Reach Out and Read, the Parent Child Home Program, and the national Family Places Libraries™ initiative. She has served as guest lecturer at the Palmer School of Library and Information Science and is the co-author of three Neal-Schuman books: Running a Parent/Child Workshop, Including Families of Children with Special Needs, and The Family-Centered Library Handbook. A lifelong advocate for children, she has presented workshops and lectures at the state and national levels on the role of the public library in serving, supporting, and designing welcoming, early-learning spaces for young children and families, as well as lectures on the administration and management of Children's and Parents' Services in public libraries. She strongly believes that libraries are a binding thread in the fabric of their communities and play a crucial role in the development of healthy children and families.