MEET THE TEAM

Kara Baker

Bachelor of Arts in History

Bachelor of Arts in English Literature

Master in Education

Master in Library Science

Personal Statement

"I have a strong desire to help people understand the nuances of librarianship and help people build relationships across all stakeholders to build strong library ties. I believe in freedom of information and the right to read and am excited to help others navigate the changing landscape of library services. I am also deeply passionate about helping other librarians strong working relationships with other campus leaders, as a campus leader."

Education

Science of Reading (Reading Academy) | 2021
Masters of Library & Information Science (MLIS) | University of North Texas | December 2018 -
Graduate Academic Certificates in Children's and Young Adult Library and Community Services
Storytelling
Masters of Education (M.Ed), Educational Administration | University of Texas at El Paso | May 2014
Bachelors of Arts (BA), History & English Literature | The University of Texas at El Paso | December 2004

Certifications

Texas Classroom Teacher Certification | English Language Arts and Reading | 8 - 12 | 2007 - present
Texas School Librarian Certification | EC - 12 | 2018 - present
Texas Principal Certification | EC - 12 | 2014 - present

Presentations

Highlights

2025. Consultant for Western Tech's Advanced Welding PAC to evaluate course components such as syllabi, rubrics, online resources, LMS, and continuity of course requirements with course rigor.
2025. Consultant for Western Tech's Diesel Mechanics PAC to evaluate course components such as syllabi, rubrics, online resources, LMS, and continuity of course requirements with course rigor.
2025. Presented “Research Made Easy” at SISD Instructional Officers Leadership Meeting.

Highlights

2024. Presented “What a Librarian Does: Book Evaluations with Policy in Mind” at SISD Principals Leadership Meeting.
2024. Presented “Quiet Leadership” at Border Regional Library Association (BRLA) Conference.

Highlights

2023. Presented "How to Make Friends and Influence eSports" at Texas Library Association Conference.
2021. Interviewed for Australian Library and Information Association Podcast "How to Handle the Challenge".
2019. Presented “Easy Research for All” for LACe Program (Region 19 Librarian Alternative Certification).

Work Experience

Kara's journey in education began when she was working at the local casino and inadvertently began a staff book club. From there, she went at worked at the El Paso Public Library as a Library Assistant. Here she decided to go to school and earn her degree with sights on someday becoming a librarian. As a student at the University of Texas at El Paso, she had the privilege of being a staff member at the University Library. Upon graduation with her B.A.s, she was promoted to the Serials Night Manager and spent lovely evenings immersed in the historic whisperings of the microfilm and microfiche of which she was very happily the steward. Kara's foray into public education came when one of her roommates suggested they both earn Alternative Teaching Certificates. Since Kara likes to learn, that sounded like a great idea. To get her foot in the door, while earning the certification, she was hired as a Library Aide for Socorro ISD and became a Reading Teacher shortly thereafter. A few short years later she became a Language & Literature instructor for her school's International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme where she also taught the Theory of Knowledge courses, lead the Creativity, Activity, Service component, and was a Extended Essay mentor.

Then one day her best friend suggested they go back to school to become school administrators. Again, liking to learn, Kara thought this sounded like a fine idea and while she quickly decided after earning the degree that she in fact did not want to be an administrator, the knowledge gained in earning said degree has been invaluable in her building relationships and bridges between many different types of educators. Having one Masters degree earned and the intimidation of it dispelled, Kara decided it was finally time to earn the Library Science degree and fulfill that dream from back when she first worked at the Public Library.

Kara has now been a high school librarian for several years and enthusiastically looks forward to the next academic adventure. She is also very excited to share her hard-won knowledge with others to help smooth the troubled waters of education for others.

As a Librarian for Socorro ISD (2018-Present), she has had the means to support many district initiatives such as eSports, Fandom & Comics Expo, Battle of the Bluebonnets, Maverick Mayhem, Totally Tayshas, and RealTalk. She is also pretty good at planning Literacy Events for both individual campuses and feeder patterns. When Kara was a member of the ALA's Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table, she was instrumental in creating resources for librarians around the world to handle challenges and bans specific to graphic novels, comics, and manga. As a LIT Member (Library Instructional Team) she has also been able to closely study Local and State policies and their changes and lead other librarians to compliance thereof.