Meet our wonderful Head of Publishing, Dr Lara Cain Gray, who has been at Library For All for nearly nine years.
Lara is “a proud librarian and picture book activist” with a multi-discipline career across curatorship, academic research, and education publishing. She has an ever-expanding knowledge of children’s books built through a lifetimes’ advocacy and passion for storytelling.
As Head of Publishing at Library For All, Lara draws on her deep experience of international librarianship to deliver cross-cultural and multilingual books and educational resources to communities where poverty, history or remoteness prevents children’s access to traditional libraries.
“I wanted to work for a ‘library with a difference’ that both makes and selects books for communities that place cultural voices and diversity as a priority. As an avid reader and book lover, providing books to children who may otherwise not have access has always appealed to me,” explains Lara.
“I came to Library For All with a somewhat niche skillset that was uniquely suited to our aims. I’m a qualified librarian but also have a research background in cross-cultural studies and translation. I’ve also curated and managed multilingual book collections in libraries and museums in both Australia and the UK.”
Reflecting on why she loves working for Library For All, Lara credits the nature of the work and as well as the people she works with.
“I’m part of a tremendous team who are not only good at their jobs but are also excellent humans who care deeply about the impact of what we’re doing. There is a global literacy crisis right now. Even in affluent countries people are less inclined to read for pleasure, despite the research showing the many benefits of reading in terms of wellbeing, inclusion, financial security, and autonomy – not to mention joy!
So, I’m very proud to work with an organisation that co-creates book collections based on the needs of communities with a view to fostering a robust reading culture. Everyone deserves to see themselves in books and reap the benefit of culturally aligned reading.”
Finally, Lara’s favourite book from Library For All’s collection?
“There’s so many! But Coffee House from our Ukraine collection comes to mind. Written by Vovchyk Bratyk and illustrated by Sofiia Butusova, this title was commissioned as part of our delivery of books reflecting Ukrainian culture for children impacted by the conflict. It is a reminder to me that all books are inherently about cultural experiences, not just the ones we might mark as showcasing cultural dress or traditions. What’s more, in a situation where ‘daily life’ has been so dramatically disrupted, these small stories about simple childhood experiences become all the more poignant as reminders of normality.”
Lara is the author of The Grown-Up’s Guide To Picture Books, a gorgeous picture-book-for-adults illustrated by Lorena Carrington and Timothy Ide. It’s designed to upskill parents, carers and teachers to enjoy deeper understanding of picture books with children. Lara has also written books for Library for All including Special Sisters and We are All Stars.