Celebrate National Friends of the Library Week by attending a talk by Tara Houston, Community and Engagement Manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 

Before she came to OSF, Tara Houston was Professor of Scenic Design at Louisiana State University and the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. Her work flourishes in collaborative environments that support intellectual and artistic risk taking. Tara’s scenic design work has been featured at Cara Mía Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Madison, Swine Palace Theatre, and others. She is on the Board of Directors for USITT and Steering Committee for the Latinx Theatre Commons. Tara is particularly proud of her work with La Gente: The Latinx/e Theatre Production Network.

The purpose of the Friends of the Ashland Public Library is to support the mission of the Ashland Public Library and the Jackson County Library District through fundraising, volunteerism, and advocacy. In addition to members’ dues and donations, their main fundraising activity is the ongoing book sale in the library lobby. Funds raised support library programs for all ages, notably Summer Reading, the Ashland Reads program that puts books in the hands of every Ashland first-grader, book clubs, crafts, music, take-and-make kits, games, and more. They also provide funding for the ongoing renovations of the Ashland Public Library. For more information and to get involved, visit https://friendsofashlandlibrary.org