BROWARD COUNTY, FL – Broward County Library's Regional Manager Makiba Foster has been named a 2021 “Mover & Shaker” by Library Journal in the Digital Developers and Educators category, one of 46 library professionals nationwide selected for this honor. This annual award recognizes emerging leaders who are moving libraries forward for the next generation.
An innovator and community builder, Foster is the driving force behind Archiving the Black Web, a grant-funded project for creating a design to preserve and document the Black experience online. Serving as Project Director, Foster leads this national initiative as it focuses on strategies for collecting and preserving Black history and culture online and building a support community for Black cultural heritage collections interested in web archiving.
"We are delighted that Makiba Foster has been recognized for her outstanding efforts in advancing libraries and creating innovative library services," says Broward County Library Interim Director Allison Grubbs. "This well-deserved honor is a testament to Makiba's unique talents and to the creativity and dedication she brings to our libraries and to the field of librarianship overall."
Foster joined Broward County Library in May 2019 as Regional Manager of the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, one of the few public libraries in the United States with specialized archival collections dedicated to the study of the culture and history of African Americans and others of African descent. Before coming to Broward County, she served as the assistant chief librarian at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a research division of the New York Public Library located in Harlem, New York., where she established a groundbreaking web archiving project.
Throughout her career, Foster has used positions in both academic and public libraries to facilitate better community and library relations through technology. From projects like Documenting Ferguson, a community-based archive she launched while working as a Washington University librarian, to her most recent endeavors, her work has been an effort in helping libraries reimagine services to better serve and positively impact the community.
In addition to launching and managing Archiving the Black Web, Foster’s creative leadership led AARLCC to commission an original play about the award-winning actress Esther Rolle, whose archive is housed at the library. With much anticipation from the community, the play debuted as a drive-in theater experience in Spring 2021. She is also credited with developing the well-received Cultural Conversations at the Center series, which features intellectually stimulating programs with thought and industry leaders, scholars, educators, filmmakers, artists and others whose work celebrates and illuminates aspects of Black history and culture.
About Broward County Libraries
Broward County Libraries Division, named 2020 and 2015 Library of the Year by the Florida Library Association, was founded in 1974 and is the largest library system in Florida by square footage and one of the busiest, with more than 7.5 million walk-in customers visiting its 38 locations annually. Broward County Libraries Division provides convenient access to a full range of innovative and cost-effective services that satisfy the changing needs of the people of Broward County for information, education and recreation. Visit our website, Broward.org/Library, or follow Libraries on Facebook and Twitter.
DATE: June 3, 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Catherine McElrath
Libraries Division
PHONE: 954-357-7402
EMAIL: cmcelrath@Broward.org