Emerging Leader Award: Beth Shields

Beth Shields, the electronic records analyst at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA), and an electronic records consultant for the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), is the 2014 recipient of the Emerging Leader Award.

Created in 2011, the Emerging Leader Award celebrates and encourages early career archivists who have completed archival work of broad merit, demonstrated significant promise of leadership, performed commendable service to the archives profession, or have accomplished a combination of these requirements. 

In her work at KDLA, Shields works to improve Kentucky’s electronic records management policies and procedures. Her contributions help to ensure that Kentucky government records will be properly managed and preserved, regardless of format.  As the co-chair of CoSA’s State Electronic Records Initiative, Shields provides insight and coordination for this large and important collaborative project that has far-reaching implications for electronic records and digital preservation in all state and territorial archives.

The Award Committee noted that Shields brings “a unique combination of vision and in-depth knowledge of the archival enterprise, along with a collaborative spirit that clearly marks her as an emerging leader in [the archives] profession.”