2018 VLA Emerging Leader: Garrison Libby

Garrison Libby is currently a Reference Librarian at Tidewater Community College’s Virginia Beach campus where he serves as liaison to the Health Professions departments. Prior to that he worked at Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville, NC and received his MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Garrison’s library interests include outreach, open access and OER, and the use of technology in libraries. When not being a librarian, he is an active runner, champion Netflix-watcher, avid mantis shrimp enthusiast, and generally delightful individual.

From the ALA website:

The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders (EL) program is a leadership development program which enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. It puts participants on the fast track to ALA committee volunteerism as well as other professional library-related organizations.
The  EL program kicks off with a day-long session during the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Afterward, it grows and develops in an online learning and networking environment for six months.  The program culminates with a poster session presentation to display the results of the project planning work of each group at the ALA Annual Conference.
Participants commit to participating in all aspects of the program.  Participants may be offered an opportunity to serve on  an ALA, division, chapter, or round table committee, task force or workgroup as well as other library-related groups upon completion of program.  However, appointments are not guaranteed.
The program is limited to no more than 50 participants each year.