former Henika District Library employee and now director of the Newaygo Area District Library, has been named a 2016 Emerging Leader by the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies.The Emerging Leaders program enables newer librarians from across the country to participate in work groups, 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 $1,000 each to participate in the Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference, and each participant is expected to provide service to ALA or one of its units.
As ASCLA’s representative for the 2016 Emerging Leader program, Golm will kick off her tenure at the upcoming 2016 Midwinter Meeting in Boston and end it with a presentation and a poster session, at the annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in June.
Ms. Golm earned her master of library and information science degree at Wayne State University in 2013.
As a former Accessible Libraries for All (ALFA) Fellow at Wayne State, she won a grant for $5,500 from the Robert C. Reinhardt Library Fund to implement a laptop lab for senior citizens at the Henika District Library.
A spokeswoman for the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies said, “Christina is committed to learning how to better help people who are blind, hearing impaired, or who have physical disabilities to effectively use information technologies as well as ASCLA, a division of the American Library Association. The ALA is a diverse organization of librarians and support staff who work in academic and public libraries, state agencies, specialized libraries and multi-type cooperatives, as well as those who are self-employed.
“Our division’s work centers on member-driven interest groups that represent the diversity and important work of our engaged and active members.”
PHOTO: Christina Golm
What kind of leader has the majority of her staff quit their jobs? A true team leader would have come into the library and worked with the staff to create a positive work environment and to work together as a team. Half of the original staff at the Newaygo Area District Library quit under her leadership and new employees are doing the same. It’s funny to me that a leadership award went to the captain who had her crew jump ship.