Monnee Tong, a librarian at the San Diego Public Library, was named an American Library Association 2014 Emerging Leader. Tong, who graduated from the iSchool MLIS program in 2012, says her goals as an Emerging Leader are to "be a more informed and articulate advocate for libraries and librarians, to learn more about being a leader, and to meet lots of intelligent and inspiring professionals!"

The Emerging Leaders initiative began in 1997 as a one-year program under former ALA President Mary R. Somerville and revived in 2006 under former ALA President Leslie Burger. It was established to recognize the best and brightest new leaders in our industry. It’s open to librarians under 35 years of age or those new to the library profession of any age with fewer than five years of experience working at a professional or paraprofessional level in a library. The program allows these stars to get on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership, participate in project-planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers.

Tong says what inspired her to become a librarian is the "library’s role in providing free access to information, learning, culture, and entertainment."

If you are headed to the ALA Conference in Las Vegas, stop by the Emerging Leader poster session, Friday, June 27, from 3-4 p.m.