About

Jack Baur is a graduate of the University of Oregon and University of Washington who discovered he could parlay his longtime love of comic books into a legitimate career niche, paving the way for much of what’s happened since.

Shortly after grad school Jack became a Teen Services Librarian at the Berkeley Public Library. Jack hadn’t really intended to become a Teen Librarian, but turns out he really likes it. And Teen Librarians get to have an absurd amount of fun. Buying comics and playing video games and putting on plays and doing crafts; that’s how he spends his days. It’s rad.

Jack likes comics, and since he’s been a Teen Librarian, he’s written several articles, a chapter in Genreflecting, gone to conventions and provided trainings about using comics in the library. He is glad that librarians have accepted comics into their collections, but feels like many think of them more as a box to check. Jack wants to show librarians what makes good comics good, and help them learn how to select for comics collections and really serve their readers. 

Jack is an active member and past president of the Bay Area Young Adult Librarians (BAYA) and a 2012 Eureka! Leadership Fellow.

Amanda Jacobs Foust is the Electronic Services Librarian for Marin County Free Library (MCFL), where she began her career as a Teen Librarian at the Novato Library.

Previous to working for  MCFL, Amanda worked for Oakland Public Library and the Oakland Museum of California Paul Mills Archive and Art Library. She completed her MLIS at San Jose University in 2004 and obtained her BA from Mills College in Communications with a special emphasis on letterpress printing. So you know, she’s a font nerd. 

Despite her work in Electronics Services, Amanda remains dedicated and active in regards to youth services. She is a Voices of Youth Advocate (VOYA) reviewer who continues to be active in BAYA. She is also a 2009 Eureka! Leadership Fellow.

Amanda is a native of the Inland Empire, an avid reader and second generation librarian. 

Jack and Amanda connected about comics on a BART ride home from a BAYA meeting. Together they have presented and written about comics since 2010. 

In the Library with a Comic Book is produced by Donna Mettier of the Marin County Free Library. 

Contact them with questions at inthelibrarywithcomicbook@gmail.com.