The American Indian Library Association (AILA) has selected Aaron LaFromboise, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, for the 2014 ALA Emerging Leaders program. As sponsor, AILA provides a stipend of $1,000 to support her attendance and participation in the Emerging Leaders program at the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.
Aaron earned her undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies from the University of Oklahoma in 2013. She is a first-year MLIS student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison who works for Blackfeet Community College as a Library Technician at the Medicine Spring Library in Browning, MT. She is obtaining her LIS degree to help move the Medicine Spring Library forward both as an academic library and also as a community and tribal facility. Her goals for Medicine Spring Library are to cultivate the small archives and set up a clear mission for the space. She is also working to help the library become a depository for Blackfeet language and stories through recording and written documentation.
“We are excited to have Aaron as our 2014 Emerging Leader. She is working full-time while pursuing her MLIS, and we are glad that we can support her in pursuing her goals of learning more about librarianship and networking through participating in the Emerging Leaders program,” said Heather Devine, 2013-2014 AILA President.
The Emerging Leaders 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. Emerging Leaders receive up to $1,000 each to participate in the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference, and each participant is expected to provide years of service to ALA or one of its units. For the complete list of the 2014 class of Emerging Leaders, please visit http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2013/11/emerging-leader-participants-class-2014-announced
Founded in 1979, the American Indian Library Association is composed of individual and institution members interested in working to improve library services to American Indians and Alaska Natives in every type of library. AILA is committed to disseminating information about these issues to the broader profession and publishes the American Indian Libraries Newsletter two times per year. For more information about AILA, visit www.ailanet.org.