ATG Media is pleased to announce the recipients for the third annual Up and Comers award. This award is intended for librarians, library staff, vendors, publishers, MLIS students, instructors, consultants, and researchers who are new to their field or are in the early years of the profession. Up and Comers are passionate about the future of libraries. They innovate, inspire, collaborate, and take risks. They are future library leaders and change makers, and we are excited to celebrate them with this award.

The 2019 ATG Media Up & Comers are:

• Negeen Aghassibake, University of Washington Health Sciences Library
• Lindsay Barnett, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University
• Elizabeth Cope, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• Meghan Cook, University of South Florida Libraries
• Moon Kim, Ohio State University Libraries
• Jocelyn Lewis, George Mason University
• Colin Nickels, North Carolina State University Libraries
• Ariana E. Santiago, University of Houston Libraries
• Victoria Seng, University of Kentucky
• Phil Willke, State Library of Ohio

 "A big congratulations to all of our award winners," says Leah Hinds, Executive Director of the Charleston Conference. "I'm so pleased to see all of the innovation and the many accomplishments that are displayed here, and I look forward to seeing what the future brings for these bright rising stars."

"It's truly a humbling experience to learn about the exciting and thoughtful work this year's crop of Up & Comers are doing to advance excellence, equity, and visibility in academic libraries," says Erin Gallagher, Electronic Resources Librarian at George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, and Charleston Conference Director who organizes the Up & Comers Awards each year. "The future of our profession is bright! I can't wait to get to know more about them and to meet them at this year's Charleston Conference!"

The 2019 Up and Comers will be recognized in the December/January issue of Against the Grain, and they will be featured in a series of scheduled podcast interviews. We will recognize the award winners in person at the Charleston Conference First Time Attendee Reception on Tuesday, November 5, at 7:00 pm in the Colonial Ballroom of the Francis Marion Hotel.

About ATG Media: ATG Media is a new umbrella group that includes the Charleston Conference, Against the Grain, "Charleston Briefings: Trending Topics for Information Professionals," and "Charleston Voices," perspectives from the annual Charleston Conference. ATG Media is a wholly owned subsidiary of ATG, LLC.

About the Charleston Conference: The Charleston Conference is an informal annual gathering of librarians, publishers, electronic resource managers, consultants, and vendors of library materials in Charleston, SC, in November, to discuss issues of importance to them all. It is designed to be a collegial gathering of individuals from different areas who discuss the same issues in a non-threatening, friendly, and highly informal environment.

www.charlestonlibraryconference.com

Tom Gilson

Associate Editor, Against the Grain

Head of Reference Emeritus, 

Addlestone Library, College of Charleston