H. Jack Martin

H. Jack Martin has worked in public libraries since the age of thirteen when his mom volunteered him to work at his local library in Cornelia, Georgia. From there, he moved on to the Athens Regional Library in Athens, Georgia, and from there to Providence, Rhode Island, where he worked as a Children's Specialist. He worked at the New York Public Library from 2001 - 2012, where he began in the neighborhood branches but eventually led the programming for Teen Central, NYPL's premier teen space. Most recently Martin was the Director of Public Programs / Lifelong Learning at The New York Public Library, where he headed up programming for all ages (especially teens!) in 89 libraries across The Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island. He lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his husband and two bad cats.

Jack first got his feet wet in the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) as a committee member of the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers team. After that he served on the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award committee. Following that he served on YALSA's award winning Board of Directors from 2010-11 before becoming President in 2012.