PLA Announces 2001 Service Award Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 2001
FROM: BRENDAN DOWLING
PLA COMM. ASST.
312-280-5021

Winners of ten distinguished service awards have been announced by the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

PLA’s Advancement of Literacy Award. The Providence Journal of Providence, Rhode Island. Sponsored by Library Journal, the award is given to a publisher, bookseller, software dealer, foundation or similar group that has made a significant contribution toward the advancement of adult literacy.

Allie Beth Martin Award. Nancy Pearl, Executive Director of the Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library in Washington, was named to receive the $3,000 award donated by sponsor Baker & Taylor. This award recognizes a public librarian for demonstrating a range and depth of knowledge about books and other library materials and the distinguished ability to share that knowledge.

The Baker & Taylor Entertainment Audio Music/Video Product Award Grant went to the Rio Community Library of Rio, Wisconsin. This grant offers the selected library $2,500 in audio music and video products for its circulating collections.

PLA’s Charlie Robinson Award has been won by Glen Holt, Executive Director of the St. Louis Public Library in Missouri. This award recognizes a public library director for implementation of innovative change.

The Demco Creative Merchandising Grant was awarded to the Val Verde County Library in Del Rio, Texas. The grant, sponsored by Demco, Inc., provides $1,000 cash and $2,000 worth of supplies to a public library proposing a project for the creative display and merchandising of materials either in the library or in the community.

PLA Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award. The recipient of this award is the Alpine Public Library in Alpine, Arizona. EBSCO Subscription Services donated $1,000 to honor a public library serving a population of 10,000 or fewer that demonstrates excellence in service to its community as exemplified by an overall service program or a special program of significant accomplishment.

The Highsmith Library Innovation Award was awarded to the Bartlesville Public Library in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. A plaque and a $2,000 honorarium are provided by Highsmith, Inc., the award’s sponsor, to recognize a public library’s innovative achievement in planning and implementing a creative program or service using technology.

The Montgomery County Public Libraries in Rockville, Maryland, received the Leonard Wertheimer Award. The award, a plaque and a $1,000 honorarium donated by NTC/Contemporary Publishing, recognizes an individual, library, group, or organization for outstanding work that enhances and promotes multilingual and/or multicultural public library service.

Kevin Barron, Branch Manager for the Mississippi County Library System was selected to receive the New Leaders Travel Grant. The $1,500.00 travel grant is donated by GEAC Inc. to support the professional development and improve the expertise of public librarians new to the field by making possible their attendance at major professional development activities.

The Johnson County Public Library in Overland Park, Kansas has been named the recipient of the NTC/Contemporary Publishing Career Materials Resource Grant. The grant, sponsored by the NTC/Contemporary Publishing, provides $500 cash and $2,000 worth of materials (ordered from NTC/Contemporary Publishing) to a public library proposing a project for the development of a career resources collection and program for a target audience either in the library or in the community.

These award and grant recipients will be recognized during the PLA President’s Program and Reception on June 18, 2001 from 5:00 until 7:30 PM at the San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, during ALA’s 2001 Annual Conference in San Francisco California. Kay K. Runge, PLA President, will preside.

For more information, call the PLA office, 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA, or see PLA’s Web site at www.pla.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 2001
FROM: BRENDAN DOWLING
PLA COMM. ASST.
312-280-5021

PLA Announces Public Libraries Article Contest Winners

The Public Libraries Advisory Subcommittee of the Public Library Association (PLA) is pleased to announce the winners of the two awards given to writers of Public Libraries articles. The awards, made possible by a PLA Challenge Grant, are given to public library employees who have authored a PL feature length article in the preceding year. The committee considered all authors who published in 2000 and matched this criteria.

Winner of the first prize of $500 was Judi Wolinsky, author of “Pep Talk for the Reluctant (or Novice) Librarian.” Wolinsky’s article appeared in the January/February issue of Public Libraries, and detailed practical tips on using the Internet, and especially how librarians can apply their reference skills to Internet searches for patrons.

Winners of the second prize of $300 were Annie Laurie Armstrong, Catherine Lord, and Judith Zelter, authors of “Information Needs of Low-Income Residents in South King County.” The article appeared in the November/December issue of Public Libraries. Based on a study performed by the King County (Washington) Library, the article identified barriers low-income residents face when they use the library, services the library system offers that are especially helpful, and areas in which the library system needs to improve in order to better serve its low-income residents.

For more information, contact PLA at 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA. PLA is a division of the American Library Association (ALA).