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Kelvin Watson on Creating Engaging Library Programs (E57) · Book Flood Podcast

• Tom Nixon: Welcome to the Book Flood podcast. I am your host, Tom Nixon. My guest this week is Kelvin Watson. Kelvin is the executive director of the Las Vegas Clark County Library District and was recently selected as Librarian of the Year by Library Journal. Welcome, Kelvin. Kelvin Watson: you Hi Tom, I'm happy to be here. Tom Nixon: ⁓ so very happy you could be here. A big fan of you and your work. Kelvin Watson: Thank you, thank you. Tom Nixon: So let's start with your career trajectory. You're now the executive director there. What did you you done before that? Kelvin Watson: So prior to me becoming the director of the Las Vegas Clark County Library District, I served as the director of the Broward County Libraries in Florida, is just north of Miami, south of Palm Beach, ⁓ for who don't know that area. And prior that, ⁓ I served numerous roles with Queens Library in New York. I started as director of digital services and strategies, After when I left, I was the chief operating officer for that library system. to ⁓ role or roles at Queens, I served as the head of acquisitions and chief collection development officer at the National Agricultural Library in the DC area as part the USDA Agricultural Research Service. And prior to I was not directly involved with working in libraries, but I worked at, for Borders, the bookstore chain, as well as the library corporation, as well Ingram Book Company. So that's my career trajectory after I left the army. So initially ⁓ after college, was in the army and I served as an officer ⁓ in the and the infantry. Tom Nixon: me officer I don't know if we can even continue this I was Navy enlisted and so there just seems to be something wrong there. No congratulations. So what is the most challenging part of leading libraries? Kelvin Watson: Thank you. I think the challenging parts of leading libraries is dealing with the change, not only internally, but externally. All the external that play into leading libraries that you have to think And depending on how library is structured, a lot of that has to do with your funding, for example. You have to be worried about your funding. How is your funding going to come? Tom Nixon: Mm. Kelvin Watson: Then there's also in some cases where you have the public, especially in recent years where you have the public coming for libraries and being the leader, but coming for libraries when the discussion is about book banning and removal of books. So I'm going to say beyond just banning books. the actual removing of books. And I think another challenging in leading libraries is the ⁓ landscape of having to navigate not only with your local but also sometimes your state and as well. So managing ⁓ all of those as well as your staff, the public. the internal and external factors, those will kind of play a lot into the ⁓ Tom Nixon: Has Clark County experienced much in the way of book banning and wanting books pulled? Kelvin Watson: So the library district has not had a lot of issues. And I say a lot, we individuals who, because of our policies, the public is allowed to, of course, their comments about books, movies, ⁓ or any resources we carry. And so they will write us and we then respond basically with collection development policy. as the guiding factor and we selected material and why we have it in our collection. So had a few, when I say a few, not similar having what the Clark County School District has actually had to, ⁓ their encounters have been a lot more vocal and ⁓ lot more with organizations like Moms for Liberty. Tom Nixon: Mmm. Kelvin Watson: and having a Miles for Liberty member actually on their board. So as a board, a school board member. So they've had a lot more because there's the policy pieces the things that I would say, Tom, is ⁓ you need to have policies pretty tight to deal with the public who are coming. know, coming at you with these book landing or request for removal. But also ⁓ you have a board, if you already have a policy in place that can help you, if ⁓ board isn't up to changing ⁓ policy in the way that folks are doing things like in Rutherford County, Tennessee, for example, which where I used to, know, I actually, where I lived that are dealing with significant. the library director is fighting significantly against the board and they're working to remove books. Tom Nixon: Before ⁓ retired, I was the leader for ⁓ a large district's library services. ⁓ you are wrong. you don't have a strong policy in place, and I have colleagues in other districts who did not, and most of them now do, because this is how you learn. Kelvin Watson: Yeah, yeah, I mean, our policy was in place prior to my arrival ⁓ as library director. you know, our collection development team, they ⁓ they vet, they vet the ⁓ the request. There's process that ⁓ it to me. So ⁓ I know about all. So when I so when I say that there's not been a lot, I can say, yeah, there's not been a lot because I haven't had to deal with a lot of those things. going to go where ⁓ I've had respond or further ⁓ in the conversation. But ⁓ interesting that I just saw a comment card, because we get comment cards from ⁓ public. But of the comment cards said, I was browsing the shelves and ⁓ see you have a lot of ⁓ left-wing material the shelf and not enough material on the shelf. So it's funny because You know, one, should search the catalog to actually know what we have in our collection. Secondly, you should, ⁓ way you can get a really accurate picture of what's there, what's not, because on that day, maybe the things were all checked out, for example, right? ⁓ you look at it and say, well, what is the publishing industry doing right now? Maybe more books are being published. on one side or the other. But you can't say that we as the library district is, know, we have a ⁓ movement towards making sure that we have these materials available and not something else. Tom Nixon: Do you get any of these complaints from outside the district? I remember one of the biggest ones, and it was page after page from somewhere in deepest, ⁓ Northern had nothing to do with us, but here, these books are on your shelves, except they have no clue. They've just been given a list. Kelvin Watson: Right. haven't, again, we haven't received anything from outside of our, you know, outside of Southern Nevada, outside of Nevada. I'll be it's been so far in between from when I've last seen a request. know the book that you're talking about is the Gender Queer, probably. That's, and I... did receive a complaint about that book with the pages, the pages copied, that was probably three years ago that I actually received that, yeah, yeah. Tom Nixon: So you were selected as Library Journalist 2026 Librarian of the Year. What has been your experience with that? Kelvin Watson: my experience with that has been, it's been twofold, I'll be honest, Tom. I thought that the Journal, Lisa Peet, the editor who wrote, I thought it was a true reflection of the body of work that I've had an opportunity to participate in as well as lead, right? ⁓ I it said everything that, ⁓ that you could probably go on the internet and actually do research on and say, okay, did this really happen? What was going on? from that perspective being highlighted and the work, again, that's gone now probably nearly 15 years, 15 years of work from my days at Queens ⁓ now, they all of ⁓ that work, right? So I don't think it was, ⁓ I wouldn't say that I was awarded it for one thing, but it was, here is an individual that has done a lot of groundbreaking work in field of the library and serving diverse populations, diverse underserved populations, right? When you think about the projects that I've had a chance to work on, like, Tom Nixon: Mm. Kelvin Watson: You know, the one of the first programs in the nation, like delivering tablets to the community that were already preloaded ⁓ with applications that was at was at Queens. And it happened right after Hurricane Sandy and that we also provided those tablets along again, one of the first libraries to do this. lending hotspots. this was in the you know, you're talking 2012, 2013 timeframe that we started doing these projects. And so, but also breaking barriers to provide access to the public in places and spaces that they hadn't, you know, hadn't seen necessarily before or delivered the way that we were delivering it. I was just in the Fort Lauderdale Tom Nixon: ⁓ wow. Kelvin Watson: airport yesterday. when was the Broward County Libraries Director, led a project with the airport director to actually bring digital library access to ⁓ the the people that lived in our area, but also to the travelers. And so you scan the QR code and this is pre, this is pre COVID. So pre COVID work, we were already leading efforts to really leverage QR codes, the usage of QR codes to launch into digital services. So those are just a couple. So it's been great be recognized for that work or feel like, man, it hasn't been all for ⁓ naught. It's because we've been doing great work, we've been leading great work. continue to lead great work and we continue to be recognized for it. Tom Nixon: Yeah, definitely ahead of the curve for sure. Much of what you said, you know, there were a number of places after COVID that started doing those types of things, but before COVID, it wasn't even on. Kelvin Watson: No, we, you know, we ⁓ in Broward, I kind of say, you know, that we were And when say we were prepared because we already had a relationship with the Broward County Schools to provide library cards to the students. this was in 2017 we established that. So we're actually providing digital library cards to students in 2017. And so you saw a lot of schools and public libraries really work trying to work together, you know, during during COVID to provide that access. And I always say, you know, we were ready. And you probably heard the saying, you know, we stay ready or we, you know, we're already ready, so we don't have to get ready. That was one of those things where you kind of, you don't know what's going to happen, but you build these relationships and partnerships. Tom Nixon: Mm-hmm. Kelvin Watson: and they turn out to be, you know, much more, you know, advantageous. know, we be social distancing, for example. We had established, I guess, 2017, 2018 in Broward. We were using the Freakle Music Service. In the outside gyms that were part of our park, the park and parks and rec offerings. So you walked up to, was an area that we had where you could launch into a QR code and you can have music while you were working out outside. Free again. ⁓ So you think about ⁓ social you talk about some of that stuff, we were already thinking about to provide services in a distinct way. And there was you know. Tom Nixon: Right? Kelvin Watson: There was no COVID. Tom Nixon: So your library district has been awarded three years in a row the ALA information today library of the future award. What does it take to get that? And three years in a row. Kelvin Watson: it takes some of the ⁓ that we're talking about right now. It really takes... not just vision, but also execution and putting things into action. And so one of the, one of the recognitions or why we received one of the first recognition was because of our partnership with the regional transit commission, which is the bus, the busing system here in Southern Nevada. And we launched project with them to offer ⁓ a Tom Nixon: Mm. Kelvin Watson: digital books, digital access to the books on the buses, leveraging the buses, wifi. So 400 buses, we were able to bring the library to ⁓ bus riders here the community, not only, again, not only residents, but also people who were visiting Las Vegas at that time as well. So QR codes, we leveraged SMS, text messaging services as well. to do to deliver this. we, the started probably around March of 2021. We launched it probably around August of 2021. So ⁓ again, able to move quickly, take action, execute, get everything in place. Another one of those recognitions was following year, was our project to provide cell phones to unhoused individuals living in our community. So we, the Lyra district provided cell phones data plans as well as cell ⁓ phone And we the devices with social service agencies contacts in the phone already. the other significant piece that is that we partnered with. the Nevada Homeless Alliance and the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, they identified the recipients of the phones and library was the conduit to just make that, you know, make that happen. And then project that we've done, ⁓ multiple projects we did ⁓ after that the work that we've done with the, I say citizens, people who've been ⁓ incarcerated. and that we work with and have put libraries inside halfway house. We also closely with an organization called Hope for Prisoners that works with returning citizens and their families and reunification and job resources. those are a few. There's a couple more as well. But that kind of gives you an idea of how you say, how do you Tom Nixon: Mm-hmm. Kelvin Watson: you know, how you do three years in a row, you do it because you don't stop thinking about the communities and the service and how to serve them in a much different way. But we won't probably be receiving another one because they say we can't apply anymore. three years in a row. So yeah, we got a pretty good run and you know, Tom Nixon: three years in a row, it's a pretty good run. Kelvin Watson: I've had the opportunity to be a part of receiving of those. One ⁓ in and one was in Queens as well. Tom Nixon: It sounds like fighting the digital divide is something that's very important to you in the work you do. Would you say that's correct? Kelvin Watson: Yeah, I would say that. I would say that digital divide digital literacy is something that is is and has been important to me probably for nearly 30 years. So I grew up in the inner city of St. Louis. You know enough in and from a you know I was I'm a product product of one of those underserved communities and so. thinking back 30 years ago, nearly about 30 years ago when I was at the Queen, I was at Ingram and people were starting to from personal to laptops. And that I remember a lot of people in my family didn't have laptops, couldn't afford laptops. And I encouraging them to go to library. So I remember 30 ago. Tom Nixon: Hmm. Kelvin Watson: I actually wrote articles on the significance of the digital divide again, 30 years ago. And ⁓ has happened is that we still have a significant digital divide as resources and technologies have changed and improved these tools that are out there and that a lot of communities either don't have access to those there's a digital literacy issue that they don't know how to use those tools ⁓ Tom Nixon: So you've been there now for five years? Five years. In that time, what are the changes that have had the most impact? Kelvin Watson: Five years. Bye. I think one of the changes has been just the acknowledgement and recognition of the library, library itself or libraries themselves, right? Is that, you know, the death knell in the library is still being talked about we're still We're still being successful. And we... We just opened up a brand new library 9th, this past December, and the community, to Southern Nevada, to people outside of our area in a community, you can see that communities are invested in libraries, the importance of libraries, and that we the and We're not just book warehouses, book repositories that we do so much more to help our community ⁓ improve and to really and improve people's lives. Tom Nixon: So you personally are active in what I like to call library world, in the greater library world, and other things. Why is that important for you? Kelvin Watson: It's important to me because ⁓ again, ⁓ allows me to give, just a part of the ⁓ overall sharing the things that we've done the things that we've tried and maybe rethought. So it's about giving as well, sharing that experience. So none of this is... ⁓ you know, owned by Kelvin. None of these is like you can, you know, let me try to help you duplicate and some of these programs and services. And so helps me to find ⁓ and spaces ALA, like PLA, like the Urban Libraries Council, example, the numerous, the numerous boards and advisory that I serve on. across the country where again, I'm able to share and, you know, and to have a voice, right? So when I think about it, I'm thinking about what I a little earlier, you know, me coming from, you know, one of these, you know, an underserved community, being a part of ⁓ not just of, because I'm an African-American male, but being, you know, but also, you know, having been somewhat, we'll say somewhat unhoused once upon time in my life when I was a teenager or also not having money sometime because we had to make difficult choices to eat or to have a place to stay. I think those give me, those things gives me, Tom Nixon: Hmm. Kelvin Watson: an opportunity to share those experiences, you know, as well and what I am continually being an advocate for and showing my advocacy the way that I want to show my advocacy, right? Because I think that's one of the things that people sometimes don't recognize about me. ⁓ I'm to be a more of a pragmatic, thoughtful advocate ⁓ utilizing Tom Nixon: Mm. Kelvin Watson: places and spaces ⁓ I don't have to be, you know, I don't have to be picketing and doing, I don't have to be loud, right? I don't have to be loud. I can just be, I just be the person I am, the leader that I am and let the work speak for itself. The work speaks for itself, right? There's no, you know, as they say, we have the receipts. Those are the receipts. Tom Nixon: Hmm. Right. Kelvin Watson: I know what come because of the things that I've personally led, the ideas, the things that I've been a part of, the teams that I've been a part of. you know, I think that that's helped. I think helped us not have some of the challenges, not that some of these places wouldn't have had challenges because you know how different parts of the country. Even if you are doing things like that, so I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is people ⁓ you know, we have so many allies because of the work that we're doing that it helps keep those detractors and distractors away. Tom Nixon: What are you working on now? Kelvin Watson: What am I working on now? Well, we are about to roll out our 2031 strategic playbook. We call our strategic plan, the strategic playbook, because it's much more ⁓ actionable the traditional strategic plans. we're rolling that out. We're about to also roll out our internal and external AI plans. And so there's also some AI things that will be, know, we'll be sharing. We've been doing a lot with a couple of organizations that are doing some pilots. so, you know, because of our past practice and the things that we've been successful in, ⁓ lot partners want to come to us and partner, you know, because they say ⁓ this a great place to partner with. So that helps. It also helps to be the librarian of the year. things help you when are doing those. So we're working on ⁓ the AI We just up our our 14th Empowerment Summit that just wrapped up a few days ago. So we're working on a lot of things like expanding our partnerships, expanding, you we got You know, we're in Vegas, so we got F1 here. I think I'm meeting with F1 this week. So we're trying to figure out how we're gonna work with F1. We just launched a partnership with Speedway actually, a weeks ago. so if I probably would spend another hour going through the list of things, the different ideas. got another, ⁓ Tom Nixon: ⁓ wow. Kelvin Watson: Something else to share is we're on a partnership to provide dental services to the community. We're already doing eyeglasses. So we're eyeglasses now. we're ⁓ in a partnership with, all partnerships. These are partnerships that have either come to us as opportunities for people to work through the library or we're... Tom Nixon: Mm. Kelvin Watson: looking at these and reaching out to develop these partnerships as well. dental one, for example, we're, we're, we're, you know, when it works, I'm gonna say if it works, when it works, it's with the UNLV Dental School. So again, leveraging, know, leveraging partnerships. Yeah, leveraging UNLV. So things that people may, you know, I think even your, your look, the looks, like the look, just kind of like, Tom Nixon: wonderful. Kelvin Watson: That's something different than working with the dental school, right? it's that type of thing that I think we strive to do, I strive to do is surprise people with the work or who our partners are and how we're delivering it. Tom Nixon: Right? a question that I ask everybody, is a book or a series of books from your childhood that still resonates with you? Kelvin Watson: Probably To Kill a Mockingbird. That one resonates with me a lot. That was probably one of the first... Tom Nixon: Mm. Kelvin Watson: of novels that I really like where we delved into it when I was a freshman in high school. We delved into it. We did a lot of writing about it, a lot of thinking about a lot of what was happening, you know, that the book kind of talked about, you know, what was happening in communities and, you know, segregation and... understanding individuals who they are emotional. Now, we didn't even use this word back then, but emotional intelligence, for example, right? And things like that, right? So that book probably resonates lot with me still today. And a lot of things that I read in high school, some of these books that they're trying to actually ban and remove were some of the most influential on me. Tom Nixon: Hmm. Kelvin Watson: You know, we talk about that one, you talk about a raisin in the sun, you talk about, there's a few more, but those two reach out, they kind of touch base and make me think about a lot of things. Still to this day. Tom Nixon: What are you reading now? Kelvin Watson: What am I reading now? So I just download what I mostly read reports. That's what I'm posting So wish I could get to there's a book I just downloaded it's called and I hope I haven't started it yet. I got it. It's called tough Somebody one of my childhood friends just recommended it to me and so I got to look it up So I'm sorry time got off the swing for me ⁓ Tom Nixon: I feel ya. Yep. No worries. Kelvin Watson: book is Turf Wars. So I hope it's by Demaura Smith ⁓ I hope to get to read it. It's a, listen to it, but it's about the NFL owners ⁓ and ⁓ supposed be a really good book. like I said, one of my childhood friends just, he recommended it to me about a week ago and I downloaded it. So hopefully I'll get a chance to listen to it soon. Tom Nixon: Excellent. you a big audiobooks fan? Kelvin Watson: I am a fanatical audiobook fan. been an audio fan way digital audiobooks. ⁓ As I mentioned, I worked for Ingram. And when I was at Ingram, I used to be in sales. So I was a sales rep. And ⁓ I in Nashville, Tennessee area where Ingram is headquartered. But my territory was Indiana. Tom Nixon: Mm. Right? Kelvin Watson: Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan. So I did a lot of driving, a lot of driving. And one day I was in the office and I knew I was going to have a long drive. I think I was driving from Nashville through Kentucky and I was going to do some Ohio, know, Southern Ohio. Tom Nixon: Jeez. Just a little territory. Kelvin Watson: visits and I got an audiobook and I've been an audiobook fan since back then it was multiple CDs actually you know what actually there was cassettes it was cassettes as a matter of fact is I so I've been already I've been doing audiobooks for since you know since the cassettes the multiple multi you know volume eight nine ten cassettes more Tom Nixon: Right? Kelvin Watson: And then, of course, I moved to CDs. And from then, now, you know, certainly do digital. you know, I used to walk. I still do what I will walk and have my Walkman and listen to the CDs, for example, while I was walking. I just change them out. So again, big I haven't probably read a novel, actual physical novel. or something like that, fiction or even a nonfiction book other than probably school books, textbooks. I listened to everything. So probably nearly 30 years. I've an audio fan. Again, we talked about COVID. I was already a big audio fan way before COVID. Tom Nixon: I reached a point where you want me to read something, that's fine, but you better be providing it ⁓ an audio format because I've got books, but ⁓ find that, you know, because I for a walk, I'm listening to something, you know, I'm in my car and listen to something. Kelvin Watson: Yeah, it's just, and like I said, I've been, you I would use, know, even when I used to go on vacation and I, you know, I would just listen to, listen to audio, listen to audio books while I was driving around. I've had a lot of, you know, windshield, you know, time in sales and my other roles and driving cross country for whatever reason. And I, I do two or three books on a trip. Yeah. Yeah. Much more productive. Tom Nixon: Mmm. Nice. Kelvin Watson: And ⁓ a lot accomplished, like I said, and I've to some great stuff. I've listened to all of the Dr. King speeches ⁓ on cassette. just, so still, for reason I still keep it because I gotta transfer them over to digital because I have all these cassettes that I ⁓ still have from years ago. Tom Nixon: Mm. Well, I want to thank you so much, Kelvin, for being on the podcast for our listeners and watchers. Please remember to like, subscribe and share. And again, thank you, Kelvin. This has been wonderful. Kelvin Watson: You're You're welcome, Tom. Welcome. Thank you, Tom. Appreciate it. Thank you, everybody. All right. Take care. Bye bye. Tom Nixon: All right. Take care.