Kelly Besser '94, M.L.I.S. '11

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Kelly Besser '94, M.L.I.S. '11, has been appointed by Mayor Karen Bass to the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) Board of Library Commissioners. Besser, an archivist for UCLA Library Special Collections, will become the first librarian and archivist to serve on the board, which will be for a five-year term.

According to the news release posted on the UCLA Library website, "Since joining UCLA Library in 2010, Besser has preserved, arranged, and described countless collections related to Los Angeles history. In addition to her work at UCLA Library, Besser’s dedication to preserving local histories extends to a wide range of institutions including the African American Firefighter Museum, the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Tom of Finland Foundation and the Yosemite National Park Service (NPS) Archives. From 2008 to 2023, Besser led The Miracle, a community-based bookmobile that delivered queer literature, records, ephemera, zines, music, and films to Angelenos. Before she worked as an archivist, Besser taught high school within the Los Angeles Unified School District for a decade."