About me
Kate Thompson is a reference librarian at the West Des Moines (IA) Public Library and disability advocate interested in expanding perspectives around neurological difference. She is a graduate of the Iowa Family Leadership Training Institute and a former member of the Olmstead Task Force, the State of Iowa group tasked with upholding the intention of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Kate has presented to the American Library Association's (ALA) Social Responsibilities Roundtable, the Library Collective, the Iowa Library Association, KidsFirst Iowa, the Arkansas Library Association Reference and Instruction Services Community, 1st Five Health Mental Development Initiative, and the Iowa Public Health Association. She was a contributor to the book Library Programming for Autistic Children and Teens, published in 2021 by the ALA. Her writing can be found online in the blogs of the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom, American Libraries, and Des Moines Parent.