Welcome to the first entry of “Celebrating Our Librarians,” a blog series on FSU librarians, designed to celebrate their professional achievements! We look forward to sharing not just the achievements themselves, but how they strengthen the librarians’ ability to help you, whether you be FSU staff, faculty, or student!
Dr. Leah Sherman, Visual & Performing Arts Librarian at Florida State University Libraries, has been elected Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect of the Arts Section of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). The Arts Section brings together academic librarians who support the visual arts, performing arts, architecture, design, and related disciplines at colleges and universities across the United States.
The position marks the first year of a three-year leadership commitment, progressing from Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect to Chair and then Past Chair. In these roles, Leah will help guide the section’s strategic priorities, support professional development opportunities, coordinate committee activities and appointments, and foster connections among visual and performing arts librarians nationwide. Leah’s election reflects more than a decade of professional service and leadership in arts librarianship.
Throughout her career, she has contributed to the ACRL Arts Section through committee work, conference presentations, and organizational leadership. She currently serves as the liaison between the Arts Section and the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and is a Past President of the ARLIS/Southeast Chapter. These experiences have allowed her to build relationships across the profession and champion the unique contributions of arts librarianship to higher education, scholarship, and the creative disciplines.
Through this new national leadership role, Leah will collaborate with colleagues across the country, identify emerging trends in arts scholarship and librarianship, and bring innovative ideas back to Florida State University. These connections strengthen FSU’s presence within the national academic library community while creating new opportunities to support student success, faculty research, creative practice, and interdisciplinary collaboration across the arts.
At Florida State University, Leah supports departments across the College of Fine Arts and additionally serves as liaison to the FSU Museum of Fine Arts, the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, and the FSU Master Craftsman Studio. She holds both an MLIS and a PhD in Art History from Florida State University, where her research focuses on UNESCO, twentieth-century museum history, and cultural heritage theory. As both a librarian and an art historian who also teaches ARH 2814: Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age within the FSU Department of Art History, she brings a perspective that further bridges academic arts librarianship, visual arts scholarship, and classroom instruction.
If you would like to book an appointment with Leah, please email her at LRSherman@fsu.edu! Please stay tuned to the FSU Libraries Blog for more from this series!
Post written by Leah Sherman and edited by Zane Boyle
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