Hale Speaker Series – March 15 @ 7PM with WML Director, Allen McGinley

WML Director Allen McGinley will be the first talk in the 14th Annual Hale Speaker Series. The free talk is open to the public with pre-registration required either online at www.wmlnj.org or by phone at 908-789-4090 Ext. 0.  Hale Series talks will be streamed live and available later on YouTube on the Friends’ channel fwmlnj.

The role of public libraries has been changing, and the vision for the Westfield Memorial Library’s future will be the central theme of the initial Hale Speaker Series talk this year. In his speech titled “Re-Inventing our Library for the 21 st Century,” Library Director Allen McGinley will discuss how the WML will build services and facilities that focus on hands-on learning and open-ended exploration.

McGinley began his library career at a New York Public Library branch, and then spent a decade in varied roles at the Piscataway Public Library. He served as library director in Teaneck before assuming his current post in 2021.He has been recognized as an emerging leader by the American Library Association and as a Mover and Shaker by Library Journal. The NJ State Library honored him in 2013 for helping to open the first Makerspace in a New Jersey public library. He currently serves as second vice president of the state Library Association and treasurer of New Jersey Makers Day, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to showcasing STEM and maker culture in libraries.

The Hale Series was set up on 2007 by Lee Hale in honor of his late wife, Anne M. Hale. When Lee Hale died in 2007, the series was renamed The Anne and Lee Hale Speaker Series. of.  Since 2015, it has been termed The Hale Speaker Series. The Hales’ daughter, Barbara, is a member of the Speaker Series committee headed by Linnea Rhodes.  Other members are Sherry Cronin, Mary Orlando, Tina Lesher and Ellen Albertson.

The series, hosted by the Friends of Westfield Memorial Library, receives funding from The Glasser Foundation and the Anne and Lee Hale Foundation.