Not That Kind of Library

Join us on Tuesday, June 17, at 6 p.m. for "Not That Kind of Library: The Library of Congress, the National Archives and Presidential Libraries."

The Clinton Center will welcome Abby Krolik of the Library of Congress and Nicole Ferraiolo of the National Archives, who will discuss how these two unique institutions collect and preserve records that tell the stories of America. Dr. Kristin D. Mann of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will moderate the panel.

The conversation will explore the mission statements and collections policies of both entities; the founding and early histories of the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration; and plans for the future, including the upcoming Commemorating America 250 year-long celebration.

The program will be available on our YouTube channel the following day.

Clinton Presidential Center Presents is a partnership between the Clinton Foundation, Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, and Clinton Presidential Library.

ASL interpretation is available during our events.

About the Speakers and Institutions

Abby Krolik is the educational resources specialist Library of Congress. She is a practiced education professional dedicated to forging meaningful connections between learners and the arts, history, civics, and culture, with a particular emphasis on museum-based learning.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors.

Nicole Kang Ferraiolo is the director of public engagement, Office of Presidential Libraries, NARA. In this position, she works with an amazing team to facilitate public engagement across 16 presidential libraries and museums. Our team supports exhibitions, education, public programming, visitor services, external communications, strategic partnerships, and digital engagement.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. In a democracy, records belong to the people, and for more than eight decades, NARA has preserved and provided access to the records of the United States of America. Records help us claim our rights and entitlements, hold our elected officials accountable for their actions, and document our history as a nation. In short, NARA ensures continuing access to the essential documentation of the rights of American citizens and the actions of their government.

Kristin Dutcher Mann, a faculty member since January 2003, is a specialist in the history of Colonial Latin America and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. She teaches courses in Latin American History, History of the U.S. West, U.S.-Latin American Relations, History and Globalization of the Drug Trade, History with Objects, and the world and U.S. History survey courses. Dr. Mann holds a Ph.D. from Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. She is a former high school history and geography teacher, and she serves as the coordinator for the department’s social studies education program.

As part of her work with social studies teachers, both pre-professional and professional, she has collaborated on several grant projects in conjunction with the Little Rock School District and the Arkansas Council for the Social Studies. Dr. Mann worked on educational materials and professional development for educators related to the Life Interrupted: The Japanese American Experience in WWII Arkansas project since 2003. In 2018 she received a $20,000 grant from the Library of Congress to create the Arkansas Primary Source Sets project. Dr. Mann serves on the board of the Arkansas Council for the Social Studies and is the coordinator of the Central Arkansas National History Day competition. Dr. Mann was honored for her outstanding work in the community with UA Little Rock’s Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service in 2014. She recently won an award for her hybrid/flexible course development for both online and face-to-face students.

Dr. Mann’s current research interests include Colonial Latin American borderlands; bells, music, religion and identity, mission music and dance; Arkansas politician and businessman Mifflin W. Gibbs, as well as relations between Arkansas and Mexico. She was recently featured in a New York Times story and radio talk shows about her work with social studies education and teaching history in polarized times. She also writes about teaching history, including high-impact, public-facing student projects and projects in which students evaluate large language model-generated text and Wikipedia content.