Savannah Lake Named a 2025 Core Emerging Leader

CHICAGO—Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is pleased to announce that Savannah Lake has been selected as a Core Emerging Leader (EL). Lake is a Digital Scholarship Librarian for the J. Murrey Atkins Library at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Within her two and a half years of work managing UNC Charlotte’s institutional repository, she has increased deposits by nearly 400 works, added its first student works, co-chaired the university’s Scholarly Communications Committee, supervised summer MLIS fellows, and helped expand the library’s open access services.

Lake says, “Prior to librarianship, I was in jobs within publishing and law in which the organization and culture were very stratified. What has been so refreshing about librarianship is that leadership opportunities are not restricted to those at the top level. Whether it be through committee work or individual projects, there is potential to serve as a leader and help the library identify and reach its goals. I have experienced this in much of the work I have done thus far at my library. Given this potential for leadership work within libraries, I am interested in cultivating these skills and am hopeful that participating in the Emerging Leaders Program would allow me to do so in a more formal capacity.”

One of 50 library workers chosen from across the U.S. and Canada, Lake will participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into the ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. Following a virtual, day-long kickoff session during ALA LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience (LibLearnX), the program will continue in an online learning and networking environment for six months, culminating in a presentation of the groups' work at the 2025 ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA this June. Core is sponsoring three Emerging Leaders for 2025. Learn more about the ALA Emerging Leaders Program.

About Core

Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is the national association that advances the profession of librarians and information providers in central roles of leadership and management, collections and technical services, and technology. Our mission is to cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy and learning. Core is a division of the American Library Association. Follow us on our Blog, Instagram or LinkedIn.