University Libraries' Rebecca Miller named Emerging Leader
Rebecca Kate Miller, of Blacksburg, Va, assistant professor and college librarian for science, life sciences and engineering at the University Libraries, has been named an Emerging Leader by the American Library Association (ALA). The 2012 class of Emerging Leaders will network with colleagues from around the country, discuss issues in problem-solving work groups, gain an inside look into the ALA’s structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity.
“As a member of the ALA Emerging Leaders class of 2012, I really look forward to engaging with the profession, its issues, and its values on a new, deeper level,” Miller said. “As part of the program, I will be working with a project group of five other librarians from around the country on developing a needs assessment for professional development resources for librarians involved in distance education (online) teaching and information literacy instruction. Both this project, and the skills I hope to build through the program, will help me better serve the Virginia Tech community and the library profession as a whole,” Miller said.
Emerging Leaders must commit to participating in all aspects of the program, be under 35 years old or be a new library professional, be able to attend conferences, and pledge to serve on committees associated with ALA or their state or local library organizations upon completing the program.
“Rebecca Miller is a highly successful librarian,” Lesley Moyo, director for research and instructional services, said. “As an ALA Emerging Leader, she is poised to do amazing things for the Virginia Tech libraries and the profession of information science. She has an extraordinary facility with technology, and has tapped into the collaborative power of social media to enhance various domains of her professional work. She is indeed a mover and shaker, and we at Virginia Tech are very fortunate to have her as a colleague.”
Miller and two of her Virginia Tech Libraries colleagues, Carolyn Meier and Heather Moorefield-Lang, are editing a book about how libraries and librarians are using iPads and other tablets to enhance and improve services. Entitled “Tablet Computers in the Academic Library,” the book will be published by ALA Editions in Fall 2012. More information is available on the project’s website.
Miller earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in English and religion from the College of William and Mary. She is currently working on a master’s degree in instructional design and technology in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech.
The Virginia Tech University Libraries were established in 1872 with 500 volumes. Today, the libraries' holdings include more than 2 million volumes, and they provide access to a large collection of electronic databases and full-content journals, and is located in the Carol M. Newman Main Library, Art and Architecture, Veterinary Medicine, and the Northern Virginia Resource Service Center. The University Libraries is also a selective depository for federal documents and a member of the prestigious Association of Research Libraries. The University Libraries provide and promote access to information resources for the achievement of Virginia Tech's objectives in teaching, learning, research, creativity, and community service.
