Presentations, Teaching, and Public Speaking

Chalk it up to my theatre background, but I've always been comfortable speaking to a crowd. And when it comes to the value of public libraries, there are so many important things to say! It's a pleasure to inspire patrons, non-users, community organizations, staff, and other librarians. I love to create "ah-ha!" moments, when people suddenly see how the library can improve their lives in ways they never imagined.
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Taking Community Partnerships to the Next Level


  • Guest lecture, University of Washington iSchool class LIS 598: Community Engagement in Libraries, January 2018.
  • Webjunction webinar, May 2018. 

Community partnerships have the power to meet your library’s strategic goals, expand your reach and amplify what’s great in your community. You already pursue partnerships, but you can take them to the next level, or beyond! Help your community achieve its aspirations by creating partnerships built on solid relationships, mutual respect and SMART goals. Learn from the successes, failures and lessons of real-world examples. You will forge stronger community-led libraries where goals and values are aligned, and collaboration leads to innovation.

​Comments from Participants:
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"Our library is in the middle of the needs assessment process for our next plan of service.  Partnerships have been brought up a few times during our needs assessment, and I feel this information will help me with building more partnerships for our upcoming plan of service."

"I have to share this webinar with my boss."
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"I loved how the presenter said that libraries are the actual platform where the community can meet to connect with their shared purposes."

​"This ROCKED!"

"This was helpful overall and in my role as Volunteer Coordinator I will use it in building relationships with schools and in the business and government communities. Thank you.​"

​"GREAT EXPERIENCE!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"


Infopeople Course: Programs for Emerging Adults

I developed and taught this 4-week online course for Infopeople. Its first delivery was April-May 2017. 

Join instructor Audrey Barbakoff in this 4-week course, designed to guide learners through planning and implementing successful and engaging adult programs. You will build your confidence and develop concrete plans for serving emerging adults in your community by focusing on play, while exploring real-world examples, best practices, and useful tips and techniques that can be applied immediately. Week by week you will walk through creating a targeted, effective program of your own from start to finish, so you can leave with a fully-prepared plan that’s ready to put into action at your library. Additionally, you will be introduced to a strategy for encouraging your teams, boards, and funders to support these non-traditional adult programs.

Prior to the course, students rated their understanding of programs for emerging adults at an average of 3.4 out of 6. By the end of the course, the average was 5.4 out of 6. 

Comments from Students:
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"I learned a lot! I got to know my local resources and strategic partners better. I learned to think of the bigger picture before constructing the program first. I reviewed how to evaluate a program. I will be keeping her course outline to help me develop my first programs!"

"I am new to designing/organizing library programming in general so even beyond the idea of targeting emerging adults, I learned a lot about the process of assessing community needs and designing programs to fulfill those needs (while taking into consideration budget, partnerships,
and overall organization/time required to implement). I think this information will be very helpful to me."

"I learned how to target a particular demographic with my programs, identify community needs, and form stronger local partnerships. I appreciated Audrey's reminder that we needn't be experts on everything ourselves, and it's okay to learn alongside our patrons."

"Audrey did an excellent job teaching the course, and selecting course materials. I appreciated her kind, constructive feedback on all of my posts."

"Audrey is wonderful. She is very positive and enthusiastic."

"The course was terrific!"

Nuts & Bolts of Supervision

Are you a new or aspiring manager? Are there questions about your role and responsibilities that you haven’t felt comfortable asking your employer, or are you unsure how to handle unmotivated employees, absent management, or patrons who blur the line of legally acceptable conduct? In this Q&A, attendees will have the opportunity to ask all these questions and more. A panel of academic and public librarians of all management levels will share their expertise.


Moderator: Megan Hodge
Panelists: Audrey Barbakoff, Bohyun Kim, Kimberly Knight

Libraries – Unite Your Patrons: Check Out the Latest Trends in Community Reads Programs

What if a whole community were engaged in a book discussion?
Many libraries have asked and answered that question by sponsoring Community Reads projects. Library Journal and Ingram Library Services present a webinar featuring a panel of librarians who have coordinated and managed city-wide book groups in their own communities.
Don’t miss this lively discussion about their experiences and best practices for many different aspects of Community Reads projects, such as planning, title selection, promotion, challenges faced and lessons learned.


Moderator: Shannan Rosa – Collection Development Librarian, Ingram Library Services

Panelists:
Audrey Barbakoff – Adult Services Manager, Kitsap Regional Library
Jan Bodnar – Outreach Librarian, Irving Public Library
Theresa Lynch – Senior Library Manager, Collection Development, Wake County Public Libraries
Lauren Williams – Adult and Community Services Manager, Columbia Public Library

Beyond Book Groups

Think outside the book group! Libraries are re-engaging with adult readers and sharing books with them in innovative new ways and in unconventional places. From pop-up programming on planes, trains and ferries, to Books on Tap, a literary sport over local brews, jump into the programming sandbox to explore creative ideas for reaching new adult audiences and delighting the bibliophiles in your own community.

This presentation has been delivered in person and online.
Comments from Participants:

"Aha moment-using strategic roadmap language on a regular basis."

"I plan on doing more playful programs when I get home."

" I definitely want to do a trivia night outside the library & Audrey's nuts and bolts presentation provided great info to do just that!"

"I am totally doing a home spa program & DIY cleaning programs at the library. Those are simple & fun & will work well."

"Feeling incredibly inspired and able!"

Adults Just Wanna Have Fun: Adult Programs Beyond Lectures

Many public libraries promote themselves as centers of lifelong learning, but fail to engage adults 20-55. Both notoriously underserved "emerging adults" in their 20s and 30s and middle-aged adults who find that there are more learning opportunities for their children than for themselves need creative, social, hands-on programs to attract them back to the library. Learn how to remind your adult patrons--and yourself!--that lifelong learning really is fun and fulfilling. 

This presentation has been shared in person and online, in venues such as:
Comments from Participants:

"Today’s webinar truly showed how creative and “fun” libraries and adult services librarians can be. It helped me get my groove back!" 

"You are my record holder for attendees with 220+! You killed it! And it was such a fun topic." 

"Great ideas for programming for the 20-30 year old market."

"The value of this session was not just content, but also the speaker's verve!"

“Terrific, unique ideas.”

"I loved that we actually got to make one of the projects Audrey has done in programs.  I also really liked that her programming ideas were focused toward adults, but could be applied to any age, really!  Great ideas!"

“I plan to take several of Audrey’s ideas and use them at [my] branch”

"Audrey was magnificent! What a real treat!"


Ignite: Read a Trashy Novel

in June 2014, I was asked to present on behalf of the library for Ignite Bainbridge. Ignite, whose motto is "Englighten Us, but Make it Quick" is a worldwide movement of speakers sharing exciting ideas in exactly five minutes. Twenty slides auto-advance every fifteen seconds. What a fun challenge!

Of course I wanted to talk about the importance and power of reading, but from watching other talks I felt it was important to keep the tone light and snappy. With only five minutes to speak, the emotional timbre of the talk is more compelling than most of its actual content. And so I looked at reading through a lens backed with serious science, but bound to get a laugh: trashy novels.

Want to know why you should ready a trashy novel? Take five minutes and find out. My talk begins at 15:00.

One of the best parts about public speaking is that your words can have an impact that lasts far longer than you ever imagined. More than a year after this presentation, a colleague reached out to me with this story:

"You never know where a presentation will lead!  At the art walk last night, a patron pulled me aside for a private conversation about how much she has enjoyed reading trashy novels after you introduced them at your Ignite talk.  She was so funny about it and so grateful!
She was wondering if you might be willing to suggest a few new authors to her.

Thank you for putting together such an engaging talk – you really inspired this patron to read books she never would have touched before."