ALA Announces the 2024 Class of Emerging Leaders

The American Library Association (ALA) has selected fifty (50) people to participate in its 2024 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program is designed to enable library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, 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. See the list of participants.

The Emerging Leaders program will kick off with an in-person, day-long session during the ALA LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience (LibLearnX24) event. Participants will continue in an online learning and networking environment for six months. The EL program culminates with a poster session where the Emerging Leaders will highlight the results of their project planning work during the ALA 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego this June.

Christina Fuller-Gregory and Libby Holtmann, co-chairs of the Emerging Leaders program, look forward to working with this most recent cohort of talented and committed group. Commenting on the EL program, Christina Fuller-Gregory stated “We are excited to welcome the 2024 Class of Emerging Leaders. Now, more than ever it is critical to provide early career librarians and library workers with leadership opportunities that will help them to cultivate and refine the skills needed to make lasting contributions in both their organizations and in ALA. This year, we will offer more programming and increased peer-to-peer engagement, while continuing the tradition of providing Emerging Leaders with project-based learning opportunities.”

The EL cohort consists of individuals from across the U.S. and Canada. The participants commit to taking part in all aspects of the program and may have an opportunity to serve on an ALA, division, chapter, round table, or affiliate committee or work group upon completion.

This year, sixty-eight (68%) percent of participants have received sponsorships. The sponsors include ALA divisions, round tables, the National Associations of Librarians of Color, state chapters, and ALA affiliate organizations. Each sponsor commits to financial support of an Emerging Leader to help defray costs of attending the LibLearnX and the ALA Annual Conferences.

The complete list of the selected participants and sponsoring organizations can be found on the Emerging Leader’s webpage.

The ALA Emerging Leaders program is managed by the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR).

Related Links

EL 2024 list of participants

Emerging Leaders webpage