Link to FAQ for Leadership Institute applicants.

The Leadership Institute is a flagship program of NCLA, a year-long adventure with a mission to create opportunities for learning and skill building in leadership and mentoring. The program kicks off in September 2026 with a four-day residential experience in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and wraps up at the NCLA Biennial Conference in October 2027. In between these events, participants work on an individual project of their choosing that will benefit their home library and are guided with formal mentors affiliated with the Institute. A mid-year in-person meeting in April 2027 provides a halfway mark to help participants keep up the momentum in the program and their projects.

This year’s Institute will be held September 28 - October 1, 2026 at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC.

If you have questions, please email leadership@nclaonline.org. 

2026 NCLA Leadership Institute Planning Committee:

• Melissa Kammerer (Wake County Public Library), Co-Chair

• Rachel Olsen (UNC Greensboro), Co-Chair

• Amanda Cain (Iredell County Public Library)

• Jen Hanft (State Library of NC)

• Michele Lawrence (Perquimans County Library)

• Beth Thompson (Western Carolina University)

• Tiffany Henry (UNC Greensboro)

• Amy Mason (Wake County Public Library)

• Laurie Lyda (Rowan Public Library)

If you have questions, please email leadership [at] nclaonline.org.