Nominate your librarian for the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award!
Nominations for 2011 stay open through September 12.
Nominate a librarian in a:
School Library
College, Community College, University Library
There are more than 122,000 libraries nationwide, and librarians touch the lives of the people they serve every day. The award encourages library users like you to recognize the accomplishments of exceptional public, school, college, community college, or university librarians. We want to hear how you think your librarian is improving the lives of the people in your school, campus or community.
Up to ten winners will be selected this year and receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and $500 travel stipend to attend an awards reception in New York hosted by The New York Times.
The award is administered by the American Library Association with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York and The New York Times.
For Immediate Release
Tue, 08/03/2010 - 11:21
Contact: Megan Humphrey
Public Information Office (PIO)
NEW YORK – Nominations are now open for the 2010 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.
The award invites library users nationwide to recognize the accomplishments of librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries for their efforts to improve the lives of people in their community. Nominations run through Sept. 20 and are being accepted online at www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian.
Up to 10 librarians will be selected. Each will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a $500 travel stipend to attend an awards ceremony and reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times in December.
Each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school librarianship from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.
In 2008, Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded the American Library Association (ALA) $489,000 to support the award, which will continue annually through 2012. The award continues in the tradition of one The New York Times presented from 2001 to 2006.
Last year, more than 3,200 library users nationwide nominated a librarian. For more information on last year’s winners, visit www.ilovelibraries.org/lovemylibrarian.
Carnegie Corp. of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” For more than 95 years, the corporation has carried out Carnegie’s vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. As a private grant-making foundation, the corporation will invest more than $100 million this year in nonprofits to fulfill Carnegie’s mission, “to do real and permanent good in this world.” The corporation’s capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $3 billion on Sept. 30, 2007.
The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2008 revenues of $2.9 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 websites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.
Source: http://www.oclc.org/reports/stackup/
Lest these stats aren't enough to prove the point, let me leave you with a comment posted on BookBrowse's Facebook page yesterday:
"I am a librarian in a large system in New Jersey, and we are receiving an awful lot of angry calls. Today, when I answered the reference phone, I was told I am a waste of taxpayers money, among other choice words. As the budget problems in NJ get worse, more people (along with Gov Christie) seem to be targeting librarians as wasteful. Five years ago, this would be unheard of.
You can imagine how I felt - I make around 40K, teach Excel, Word, Power Point, continue to develop more classes to improve job skills, am working on a state partnership to bring resume/job searching workshops here, develop ~20 adult programs out of thin air, run book groups .... am I a waste of taxpayers' dollars?" - Martha
After reading this, can you honestly tell Martha that she's a waste of money?
Davina Morgan-Witts
BookBrowse editor
"The richest person in the world - in fact all the riches in the world - couldn't provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library." - Malcolm Forbes
"Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest." - Lady Bird Johnson
"There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration." - Andrew Carnegie"
Join the Michigan Library Association and supporters on the steps of the State Capitol, September 10 at 10 a.m. For details, see MLA’s Rally for at the Capitol web page.
"Vigorous advocacy by library supporters in Michigan has pushed Gov. Jennifer Granholm to modify her July 13 Executive Order with a directive prioritizing continued support and funding for the statewide library book and electronic material sharing programs, Michigan eLibrary (MeL) and Michigan eLibrary Catalog (MeLCat), as well as ensuring that a State Librarian position remains, even if the job is no longer a political appointment.
While the Michigan Library Association (MLA) has withdrawn its opposition to the Executive Order and applauded Granholm’s response, the MLA is still holding a rally September 10 to protest proposed legislative cuts in state support for the programs Granholm agreed to prioritize: interlibrary loans and online databases.
Rally coming
“The Senate recently passed a budget that cuts library funding from $10 million to $7.5 million–less than half of what is statutorily required,” said Gretchen Couraud, MLA executive director. “If this budget is enacted, the entire statewide resource sharing and interlibrary loan system could collapse.”
The budget is supposed to be passed by the end of September. According to a new web site established by MLA, Michigan Libraries for the Future, llibraries across the state could be forced to reduce hours and services. A rally will be held at 10 a.m. on September 10 at the State Capitol in Lansing.
Library vendor Gale, part of Cengage Learning, is providing free bus service from Gale headquarters in Farmington Hills, and from Otsego County Library in Gaylord.
"With our headquarters located in Michigan, we see first hand how our state is experiencing some of the highest unemployment in the nation," said John Barnes, Gale’s executive VP of strategic marketing and business development. "This is not the time to cut vital library services, as more Michigan residents than ever are relying on the resources of their libraries for job-searching, skills development and life resources."
Library of Michigan changes
Beyond that, MLA and library advocates, Couraud said, “will work with the legislature and the governor to keep the Library of Michigan whole, and within state government.” Granholm’s Executive Order would eliminate the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries (HAL) and transfer most Library of Michigan functions to the Department of Education.
“The MLA is not opposed to the elimination of HAL, we are realistic about the difficult economic times facing Michigan," said Larry Neal, MLA president. "What we do not understand is breaking up the Library of Michigan without any proposed cost savings or the lack of discussion about its central role in providing cost effective services that citizens value."
“The MLA also would like to commend Senator Cameron Brown (R-Fawn River Township) for his strong leadership efforts to preserve the Library of Michigan,” MLA said in a statement.
In July, the governor announced a “conceptual plan” for a Michigan Center for Innovation and Reinvention in downtown Lansing that would include “a transformed Michigan Library and Historical Center through a partnership with Michigan State University, the city of Lansing and other appropriate public and private partners.” There was no funding, however, attached to it.
State Librarian
Granholm last week requested that the Superintendent of Public Instruction designate a qualified Department of Education employee to serve as the state librarian effective October 1 or soon thereafter.
“While the Order eliminates the politically-appointed position of state librarian, maintaining a state librarian position is important for the influence and stature of the library community within state government and recognizes the value of library resources to the People of the State of Michigan,” the governor said.
For the full article, see Norman Oder, 'Michigan Governor Agrees To Prioritize Support for Two Programs, Revise State Librarian Position; Library advocates still plan rally to fight proposed budget cuts', Library Journal, August 31, 2009.
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