Published: March 4, 2024
Edith grew up in Toledo, and attended Gesu elementary school, and then Notre Dame Academy. “There was a consistency in going from one Catholic school to another, so many people I’d known all my life were in those uniforms, those plays, those classes, and those May Crownings,” she shares.
Rather than asking, ‘ARE you going to college?’, the question in Edith’s house was, ‘WHERE are you going to college?’ She attended the University of Cincinnati, where she majored in Economics. Edith later earned her teaching certification, then graduated with her Master’s Degree in Library Science from Indiana University.
Today, Edith is an Associate Research Librarian at Indiana State University. She helps faculty and staff find library resources, develops programming, and teaches students and faculty how to evaluate whether information is good – or not. But she still sees herself as an educator. “The best teachers are good learners,” she reflects. “I’m always wanting to learn something new – and working in the library is all about intellectual curiosity.”
Although Edith has spent her career in education, she feels that being a mother to her children – Rodney, Kristen, and Evan – is what shaped her into being the person she is today.
“Parenting them meant being aware of the importance of having books that mirror their world, alongside books that become windows into other ways of being,” she shares.
“As a librarian, I began using blogs, articles, and social media to promote books and work as an ally for young adults who identify as African American, Latine, Asian and Pacific Island Americans; those with disabilities; and those who are LGBTQIA+.”
Edith collaborated with other educators, librarians, and scholars to create the We Are KidLit Collective and Black Cotton Reviewers. The former develops an annual summer reading list that recognizes the humanity of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in youth literature, while the latter reviews the Black experience in books written for teens and tweens. Her work has been recognized in the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, and London Guardian.
“My work uses the lens of critical literacy to dismantle systemic oppression in the stories we tell our youth. Because none of us is free until all of us are free,” explains Edith.
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use.