Juan Rivera selected as AASL Emerging Leader

For Immediate Release
Mon, 12/18/2017

Contact:

Jennifer Habley

Manager, Web Communications

American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

312-280-4383

jhabley@ala.org

CHICAGO – Juan Rivera has been selected as one of two American Association of School Librarians (AASL) sponsored participants in the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2018 Emerging Leaders program. The Emerging Leaders program enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. Rivera and Julie Stivers will join 48 of their peers as the program kicks off at the 2018 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver.

Rivera, of New York, N.Y., earned his master’s in library and information science with school media specialist concentration from Syracuse University in 2016. Additionally, he was awarded the 2016 Master’s Degree Prize for Library Science in his specialization. Since 2016, Rivera has been the school librarian at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School where he has refurbished the school’s libguide to add focus on independent reading and created social networking accounts to promote reading, school and public library collaboration, and community involvement. Rivera was a 2009 recipient of the Fund for Teachers Grant which he used to study pop-cultural responses to WWII in Japan and created two courses from his visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

When asked what he hoped to gain through participation in the Emerging Leaders program, Rivera replied: “One of the most valuable ideas that I got while at Syracuse is personal learning networks. By expanding my connections through professional development, Twitter @libraryjuan, or attending conferences, I get to benefit from not only formal presentations but also through conversations and modeling great leaders in the field. The Emerging Leaders program gives me the opportunity to lear from librarians in so many fields. I also think it would allow me the opportunity to find out more organically where I can serve within ALA.”

Following the kickoff session, the Emerging Leaders will collaborate with their peers in an online learning and networking environment. Their work culminates with a poster session during the 2018 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans. With its sponsorship of Rivera and Stivers, AASL will defray the cost of attending both the 2018 ALA Midwinter Meeting and the 2018 ALA Annual Conference.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.