Sam Jack has been selected as our 2022 Emerging Leader

CHICAGO-  RUSA is pleased to announce that Sam Jack has been selected as our 2022 Emerging Leader!

Sam is an Adult Services Librarian at the Newton Public Library.

“At Newton Public Library, I develop and maintain a dynamic program of service to adults, including reference services, public programs, collection development, community partnership, and special initiatives. I also supervise library aides.” Jack said.

Jack shared “the Emerging Leaders program represents a great opportunity for me to familiarize myself with the ALA and get more involved in professional services and library advocacy.”

Jack is looking forward to spending the next few months working, along with a team of five others, to develop an “Intellectual Freedom Syllabus” for the ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Round Table. He shared “with book bans and challenges spreading in the U.S., I expect my work on the syllabus to make me a more effective and informed advocate for the benefits of intellectual freedom, both in day-to-day interactions with local community members and in the broader public sphere.”

ALA’s Emerging Leader 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.

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers’ advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more at www.rusaupdate.org.

Learn more about the ALA’s Emerging Leader program.