Episode 9: Lalitha Nataraj on Creativity, Inspiration, and Kindness

Lalitha Nataraj is the Social Sciences Librarian at California State University San Marcos. She holds an MLIS from UCLA and a BA in English Literature and Women’s Studies from UC Berkeley. Her research interests include: feminist pedagogy, relational-cultural theory in LIS, South Asian Americans in librarianship, mindfulness practices and contemplative pedagogies in the IL classroom, as well as the intersection of sartorial representation and teacher & student-scholar identities. Lalitha also used to be a public librarian working primarily in youth services, and has served on several youth book selection committees, including the John Newbery Award, Michael L. Printz Award, and the Amelia Bloomer Project (a list of feminist books for ages 0-18). She strongly believes that books are mirrors into which all children can see themselves represented. Lalitha resides in Carlsbad, a couple of miles from the Pacific Ocean, with her husband, two sons, and a couple of lovely cats; in her spare time, she enjoys running, reading PoC romances, cooking, and collecting Hello Kitty/Sanrio.