William Henley is a Library Science graduate student in the School Librarian Program at UK SIS.

William Henley (Graduate Student, Library Science, School Librarian Program) has been selected as one of three interns to work on the Alaska State Library Internship Project in Summer 2016. The goal of this project will be " to provide assistance to public libraries in Alaska who lack staff expertise to sustain long-term projects that would benefit their libraries and communities" (more information available from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development's Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums website). The interns selected will be provided with housing, travel, and a weekly stipend while they are working on projects for the local public library system.

Henley will be hosted by the Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska. He will convert a collection of 2,200 books to subject-based classification as part of the "Alaska Books for Alaska Kids" project. The project's goal is "compiling an up-to-date, accessible, and useful bibliography of accurate, culturally relevant, recommended books for youth about Alaska and the North."

Henley says, "Since all of my experience is with literature for teenagers, I'm excited to get to dig into a collection of picture books and learn more about literature for the youngest readers.  As a teacher, I strived to provide multicultural literature for my students, so they all had the opportunity to see aspects of their own identity represented in the books they read.  I want to continue to do this as a librarian, so helping to create a bibliography of culturally relevant texts for children about Alaska, Native Americans, and the North in general will allow me the chance to hone this skill even more."

UK SIS congratulates William Henley on being chosen for this unique internship opportunity.