Edgerton Library Director Selected as Emerging Leader

[Rock County, WI] Edgerton Public Library Director Sherry Machones is one of 75 individuals who have been selected throughout the nation as an American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leader.  To  become an Emerging Leader, each candidate goes through a very competitive process and needs to be sponsored by a library association. Sherry was sponsored by the Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA). Each sponsor commits to financial support of an Emerging Leader in order to defray a portion of costs for attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting and the ALS Annual Conference.

Machones said, “This is a great honor and a wonderful opportunity to grow as a  professional and learn from some of the best (librarians) in the country!”

The ALA Emerging Leader program, now in its sixth year, kicks off with a daylong session during the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas.

The program enables librarians and  library staff from across the country to participate in project planning workgroups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure; and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers.

Following the kickoff session, the program will continue in an online learning and networking environment for six months, culminating with a poster session in which the 2012 Emerging Leaders will showcase the results of their project planning work at the 2012 Annual Conference in Anaheim, California. Participants commit to taking part in all aspects of the program and may have an opportunity to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee or a taskforce or workgroup upon completion of program.

Machones is a WLA member currently serving on the board of the WLA's Wisconsin Small Libraries Section (WISL).

Expansion Hopes for ALA's "Libraries Build Communities"

A subset of the American Library Association's Emerging Leaders, including WLA's very own Easter DiGangi,  is determining how to transform and expand ALA's annual volunteer service day, "Libraries Build Communities." Originally designed to assist libraries and local groups in host cities where the ALA holds its Annual Conference, the Emerging Leaders "Project F" seeks to turn the program into an ongoing national volunteer program for librarians who wish to serve their local communities.

Read more about Project F, and contact the group at project-faboo@googlegroups.com if you have suggestions or an interest in assisting recruitment efforts.

ALA Emerging Leaders Include Three Wisconsin Librarians

ALA announces that three of 83 Emerging Leaders selected for the 2011 program are Wisconsin librarians: Easter DiGangi, library intern at Fitchburg Public Library and a UW-Madison SLIS student who will graduate in December 2010; Kristina Gomez, State and Local Documents Librarian, Milwaukee Public Library, and August 2010 UW-Madison SLIS graduate; and Paige Mano, Reference/Instruction Librarian, UW-Parkside, and 2007 UW-Milwaukee SOIS graduate.

The program enables librarians and library staff from across the country to participate in leadership roles within ALA. A two-day orientation will be held at ALA Midwinter in San Diego.

Congratulations to these up and coming library leaders!