VLA's Sponsored ALA Emerging Leader is Virginia School Librarian Rebecca Caufman
 Rebecca is a secondary school library for Radford City Public Schools. Her library serves approximately 750 students in 7th - 12th grade. She is in her 5th year in this role. Rebecca began her teaching career as an elementary classroom teacher. Questions on how to best teach reading led her to get a Master's degree in reading and a Ph.D. in literacy. She has worked as a reading specialist in the first through eighth grade. Rebecca was inspired to become a school librarian during a summer conference at Longwood University. She successfully obtained her school librarian certification from Longwood University in May 2019.
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. |
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Virginia Renews Participation in the Southeastern Library Association
 Past President Nan Carmack has been appointed to represent Virginia to the Southeastern Library Association (SELA). Established in 1920, SELA is a regional library association, a step between state associations and national associations.
"The Southeastern Library Association is a unifying force strong enough to influence legislation and to attract foundation and federal funds for regional library projects. The accomplishments of the Association include two regional library surveys; the adoption of school library standards; the establishment of state library agencies and the position of state school library supervisor; the founding of library schools; the sponsoring of a variety of informative workshops; and the publication of significant regional research and a professional journal which has received national recognition."
In addition to their advocacy, SELA offers professional development, a regional conference, professional awards, résumé reviews, and service opportunities. The Southeastern Librarian, a nationally recognized peer reviewed journal, offers publication opportunities and research information.
If you are seeking additional professional resources, consider adding SELA to your roster of dues, available at under $100 depending on salary. |
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2024 VLA Presidential Citation for Tom Shepley
At the 2024 VLA Annual Conference, VLA President Nan Carmack presented Tom Shepley with the Presidential Citation. The text of the citation read:
Whereas, Tom Shepley has faithfully served as the Chairman of the Legislative Committee for 10 years;
Whereas, Tom Shepley has led the efforts to increase state aid from the Virginia Assembly to its highest level since 2001;
Whereas, Tom Shepley stood in stalwart defense of the First Amendment and the communities served by Pamunkey Regional Library for 15 years;
Whereas, Tom Shepley is an exceptional role model for leadership, service and professionalism in our profession;
The Virginia Library Association is pleased to bestow this Presidential Citation in recognition of his service.
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Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) x Virginia Library Association Partnership
A new partnership between the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) and the Virginia Library Association (VLA) aims to equip VLA members with tools and resources to address the challenges and mitigate the impact of climate change in their communities.
Through this partnership, VLA members will join a nationwide community of practice who are using tools created or compiled by the SLI and its members to uncover ways that their libraries and communities will understand, adapt to, and help lessen the effects of climate change. These tools include policy and programming examples; a vendor list to ease the search of finding environmentally friendly products and services; a webinar archive and the RoadMap to Sustainability to help with planning; and a custom CO2 calculator to help members estimate their current institutional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and measure longitudinal progress in efforts to reduce their emissions.
“The Virginia Library Association is thrilled to partner with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, emphasizing sustainability as a core value for our profession and ensuring accessibility to the program. Any library with a VLA Affiliate Membership is eligible; if your library is not an Affiliate but has Individuals with VLA memberships, those libraries can also participate. With more than 94 Affiliate Libraries and 5100+ members, we anticipate wide response and enthusiasm for this Member Benefit.” said Lisa R. Varga, Executive Director of the Virginia Library Association.
“We applaud the Virginia Library Association for seeking this partnership to enable all of their members to accelerate their adoption of sustainable thinking,” said Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Board President of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, “Positioning the Virginia library community as leaders in the conversation about climate change mitigation and adaptation is a strong move to ensure libraries contribute to their community’s resilience and remain relevant and responsive institutions.”
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative’s Sustainable Library Certification Program (SLCP) —available to public libraries, academic libraries, library systems, and school librarians — provides libraries with a reliable course of action to enhance library leadership and demonstrate commitment to environmental stewardship, economic feasibility, and social equity. The certification program guides participants to evaluate their decision-making philosophies, build stronger connections within their community, and consider the lasting impacts of their action for their service area.
Members of the Virginia Library Association who opt in via the SLI website will receive one free year of annual membership to the Sustainable Libraries Initiative and a 20% discount on the award-winning Sustainable Library Certification Program. Cohorts of five or more libraries will receive a 25% discount on certification, supporting the principle that there is power in collective action.
About the Sustainable Libraries Initiative
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative is a member-driven organization that empowers library professionals to be leaders using triple-bottom-line sustainability (environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic feasibility) throughout their organizations and in their communities. The Sustainable Library Certification Program is now enrolling public and academic libraries, library systems, and school librarians nationwide. |
2024 Cardinal Cup Award Winner and Honors Announced
The Cardinal Cup Committee, previously the Jefferson Cup Committee, is pleased to announce their 2024 winner, honor titles, series of note, and overfloweth selections. The 8-person committee selected these books from 214 historical fiction, historical nonfiction, and biography titles that ranged from picture books to young adult titles. The complete book list can be downloaded below.
Winner
The 2024 Cardinal Cup winner is Light Comes to Shadow Mountain by Toni Buzzeo, published by Holiday House.
This heartwarming middle-grade historical fiction tells the story of 11-year-old Cora living in a rural Appalachian community in 1937 Kentucky. Cora is eager to be a journalist. When she learns that the electric cooperative is coming to her small mountain community if enough people sign up, she starts a school newspaper to convince everyone why electricity would be helpful. But her mother, still grieving the death of her daughter, is adamantly opposed to electricity and the possibility of losing their mountain way of life. Cora, and young readers, learn that it is important to consider opposing viewpoints to come to fair conclusions. The book also includes information on mountain herbalism, the Frontier Nursing Service, and the Pack Horse Library Project to create a well-rounded view of Appalachia in the 30s.
Honors
The 2024 Cardinal Cup Committee has selected two honor titles. The titles are A Flag for Juneteenth by Kim Taylor (Neal Porter Books) and For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransom (Holiday House).
Series of Note
The Cardinal Cup Committee recognizes a series of note. The Committee must read at least two titles from a book series for it to be eligible for this honor. The Series of Note is Penguin Random House's Race to the Truth. All titles in the series aim to tell the truth about traditionally one-sided discussions of complicated aspects of American history. The books include narrative non-fiction, photographs, maps, and questions to invite discussion and critical thinking, encourage deeper thinking about historical biases, and are just as engaging as they are important.
About Cardinal Cup Award
Established in 1982 and presented since 1983, the Cardinal Cup Committee’s goal is to promote reading about America’s past; to encourage the quality writing of United States history, biography, and historical fiction for young people, and to recognize authors in these disciplines. From 2012-2021 two books were selected: one for geared toward young adult readers and one for young readers. Beginning in 2022, the Committee returned to the original model, honoring the most distinguished biography, historical fiction, or American history book for young people. In 2023, the Committee and award were renamed. The Cardinal Cup Committee’s mission remains the same, with a commitment to celebrating titles that honor the diverse history of the United States. |
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