ALSC names Soraya Silverman-Montano as 2014 Emerging Leader

CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) announced Soraya Silverman-Montano of the Las Vegas Clark-County (Nev.) Library District as its representative in the 2014 Emerging Leader program. Silverman-Montano is currently the Young People’s Library Librarian at the Summerlin Branch of the Las Vegas Clark-County Library District.

Silverman-Montano possesses a Master of Science in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In addition to the American Library Association and its division, she is a member of the Nevada Library Association. She is currently serving on the ALSC Local Arrangements Committee for the 2014 ALA Annual Conference.

As an avid reader, Silverman-Montano first began her career in the library as a teenage volunteer. At 16, she was hired as a page and worked in circulation after graduating from high school. She then moved into youth services after obtaining her bachelor’s degree and as a librarian now she has numerous duties including preparing and conducting programs, promoting outreach, performing collection development and providing reader's advisory services.

"I attended the poster presentation for the 2013 Emerging Leaders and was not only incredibly impressed with their research but saw the relationships that were developed," said Silverman-Montano. "I believe this program allows me to better myself personally and professionally and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity.”

As ALSC’s 2014 Emerging Leader, Silverman-Montano will attend the 2014 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, as well as the 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

“We’re very proud to call Soraya the 2014 ALSC Emerging Leader representative,” said ALSC President Starr LaTronica. “We’re very impressed by her enthusiasm, resourcefulness and dedication to children’s library service. It’s clear that she is dedicated not only to excelling as a leader in the profession, but we fully expect her to becoming a driving force in innovative library programs and services in the future.”

The Emerging Leaders program enables newer librarians from across the country to participate in workgroups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA's structure and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. 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.

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 4,000 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 ALSC’s website: www.ala.org/alsc.