VLA's Sponsored ALA Emerging Leader is Virginia School Librarian Rebecca Caufman
The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders (EL) program is a leadership development program that 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 and other professional library-related organizations. This year, ALA has selected forty-six people to participate in the Emerging Leaders program. The Virginia Library Association is sponsoring Rebecca's involvement in the program, which requires attendance at ALA LibLearnX in Phoenix and ALA Annual in Philadelphia. As an Emerging Leader, Rebecca will be part of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Project, "Developing Responsible Learners Engaging in an Interconnected World." For six months, she will work with five other selected Emerging Leaders to develop materials that support professional development and instruction around the skills inherent in the National School Library Standards (2018) Shared Foundation of Engaged. Previous ALA Emerging Leader teams created activity guides around the Shared Foundations of Include (2019), Explore (2020), Curate (2022), Inquire (2023), and Collaborate (2024). Rebecca is excited to help conclude this AASL project. Rebecca's involvement with the Emerging Leader program will finish on June 27, 2025, at a poster session at the ALA Annual Conference. |