Megan Glidden, IS alumna, has been selected as an American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leader for the Class of 2019.

The ALA Emerging Leaders program is a leadership development program that recognizes the best and brightest new leaders in the library profession. The program is limited to no more than 50 participants each year. 

Megan is currently the Senior Librarian at ImagineIF Libraries in Northwest Montana, where she focuses on public services and community engagement. Prior to this role, she worked for almost five years as the Community Engagement Librarian. Megan believed she was in the right place in her career to explore new opportunities and applied to the Emerging Leaders program.

“I was ready for a new challenge and ready to build my skills on a different level,” said Megan. “I had started my first professional position about five years before and was just getting to a place where I could pick my head up and look around, and see that there was so much going on in the greater library world! I wanted to see how I could be a part of it and effect change on a bigger scale.”

At the recommendation of a friend, Megan decided to pursue a degree in library science, but only after volunteering at her local library to see if she liked it. Not surprisingly, she did! She received a part-time job at the library, and shortly after, got accepted to the Masters program and received a scholarship through the Montana State Library. Megan graduated from UNT in 2013 with her Master's in Library Science, and says getting her degree "was a good call."

As part of the program, the Emerging Leaders participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure and serve in a leadership capacity. It puts participants on the fast track to ALA committee volunteerism as well as other professional library-related organizations.

“I have learned so much about being a leader in my job and my community, and the more I develop my skills, the more potential I see to use them on an even bigger stage. As I attend national library conferences, I can see more clearly that while what we have at ImagineIF Libraries is special, we are not alone. There are many wonderful libraries around the country striving to make positive change in the world. I feel that the skills and connections I am making as an Emerging Leader will help me understand how to make those changes on a larger scale,” said Megan.

The new Leaders met and were divided into 11 groups to complete projects for their host ALA units and affiliates at the 2019 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. The teams work virtually on their projects and receive support from ALA staff and member guides from the profession. Megan is part of the team hosted by the Public Program Office of ALA. Her team has focused their efforts on creating an online resource for librarians to find funding to support their programs. She has enjoyed working with her team members who she describes as "wonderful, samart dedicated librarians from around the country." 

Each team will showcase their final projects during the ALA Emerging Leaders poster session and reception to be held on Friday, June 21, 2019 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.