Kia Vang is a Senior Librarian and Community Engagement Team member with the Hennepin County Library (HCL) system. She has been at HCL for 10 years, the first five as Youth Services Librarian at the Wayzata Branch. Before that Kia worked at the Madison Public Library while she was in library school. She also had internships in academic libraries, but once she found her way to public libraries, she loved the amazing community spaces and the range of programming.
HCL’s Community Engagement Unit, an 11-person team, formed in 2022 with the goal of embedding racial equity in library programming and partnerships and providing consistency across HCL’s 41 branches. The team reviews programming and partnership proposals submitted by staff and helps develop measurable outcomes and strategies to mitigate any barriers to access, among other things. The team members have different focus areas, and Kia’s is arts, cultural and literary programming.
Part of her job is supporting artist connections for exhibits in the Cargill Gallery at the Central Library in downtown Minneapolis. The Gallery highlights artists with limited access to exhibiting their work. The exhibits change every two months. (For information on the Cargill Gallery, visit https://www.hclib.org/en/about/locations/cargill-gallery )
Kia also co-leads the Mary Ann Key Book Club, a collaboration with Myron Medcalf. The Book Club uses reading as a catalyst for conversations around understanding and addressing past and current injustices that impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. There’s one title per year, and the seventh season will be announced on February 1, 2025. (For more information on the Mary Ann Key Book Cub, vist www.hclib.org/maryannkey )
Kia’s favorite thing about her job is getting to develop programs that make significant impact and highlight Twin Cities artists and writers. She also loves working with such dedicated colleagues.
As far as reading recommendations go, Kia says, “I love listening to audiobooks – on Libby, of course!” She especially enjoys psychological mysteries with unexpected twists; a recent favorite is Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak, a supernatural thriller with twists that did indeed surprise her!
Kia’s interests include organizing things – “making things beautiful and making spaces feel like home” – which she got to do during a recent move, listening to audiobooks while upacking boxes.
For more information about the Hennepin County Library, visit https://hclib.org For more information about the more than 100 public libraries in the seven-county Twin Cities metro, visit https://www.melsa.org/member-libraries/
Can’t get to a library branch? Visit your library’s website to find out how to get a library card, then check out ebooks, eAudio, and emagazines from the MELSA Twin Cities eLibrary, available through the Libby app.
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