Hattie Garrow selected as an AASL Emerging Leader

CHICAGO – Hattie Garrow has been selected as one of two American Association of School Librarians (AASL) sponsored participants in the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2016 Emerging Leaders program. Garrow and Meg Finney will join more than 50 of their peers as the program kicks off at the 2016 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston.

Garrow of Suffolk, Va., will participate in project planning workgroups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA; and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in her career. In sponsoring participants, AASL will defray the cost of attending the 2016 ALA Midwinter Meeting and the 2016 ALA Annual Conference.

Before obtaining her masters in education and postgraduate professional license in school librarianship, Garrow spent ten years as a journalist. Currently, she is the school librarian at Westside Elementary School located in Smithfield, VA. At Westside, Garrow manages the school’s website and social media accounts and serves as the school’s public information contact. Yearly, she organizes school-wide reading campaigns and recently began creating a Makerspace environment in her library. Working collaboratively with math and science teachers, she organized an after school “makers” program.

Garrow is an active member of the Virginia Association of School Librarians, serving as a volunteer for the most recent regional conference and on the 2015 state conference planning committee. At the national level, Garrow has served as an application reviewer for AASL grants and as a first round judge for the 2014 “A Book that Shaped Me” Summer Writing Contest.

“I'm excited to participate in the Emerging Leaders program because I believe learning is a lifelong endeavor,” said Garrow. “I look forward to advancing my knowledge and skills, collaborating with other professionals in the library field, and being exposed to new, diverse viewpoints that will allow me to better serve my students. I strive to offer an effective, engaging, and vibrant school library program; professional growth -- including involvement in ALA and AASL -- is critical to that effort.”

Following the kickoff session at the ALA Midwinter Meeting, the Emerging Leaders will collaborate with their peers in an online learning and networking environment for six months. This culminates with a poster session showcasing the results of the project-planning work at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando. Upon completion of the program, participants will have an opportunity to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee or a task force or working group.

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