ALSC selects 2010 Emerging Leader Melanie Lyttle

Jenny Najduch


ALSC Marketing Specialist


(312) 280-4026


jnajduch@ala.org

NEWS


For Immediate Release,


November 3, 2009

CHICAGO—The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) will proudly sponsor Melanie Lyttle as a 2010 American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leader. She will receive $1,000 to attend ALA’s 2010 Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.

The ALA Emerging Leaders Program began in 2007 as a Presidential initiative of then-ALA President Leslie Burger. It offers up-and-coming members of ALA the opportunity to build their leadership skills by working with peers on an ALA division, round table or affiliated project. As an ALSC-sponsored Emerging Leader, Lyttle will work with peers on a project involving an environmental scan of ALSC.

Lyttle graduated from the University of Illinois in 2003 with her master’s degree in library and information science; she is now the head of children’s service at Madison (Ohio) Public Library. The children of Madison know Lyttle as “The Crabby Librarian,” but not because she herself is crabby! Every summer this persona visits local elementary schools to discourage children from reading over the summer. A reverse psychology approach to promoting summer reading is something children look forward to each spring. Lyttle has been an active ALSC member and was the winner of the 2009 ALSC/BWI Summer Reading Program Grant for her library. She is also a member of the Northeast Chapter Action Council for Ohio Library Council (OLC), and the Youth Services Advisory Council for the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System (NEO-RLS).

“Melanie’s enthusiasm and creativity made her stand out among a group of highly qualified applicants,” said Madeline Walton-Hadlock, past ALSC Emerging Leader and member of the ALSC Emerging Leader Selection Task Force. “She was selected for the inventiveness and humor she brings to her work as a children’s librarian, her clear commitment to ALSC and her strong background in early literacy.”

Emerging Leaders must be ALA members under the age of 35, or have fewer than five years experience as a degreed librarian, and must either hold a master’s degree in library and information science from an ALA- or NCATE-accredited program or be enrolled in such a program. Candidates must be able to attend both ALA conferences and must commit to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee, task force or workgroup upon completion of the Emerging Leader program.

ALSC, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,200 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit
www.ala.org/alsc.

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