Action for Libraries
Member News
Libraries and staff from BCR member libraries have earned a number of awards and honors from our state member agencies and associations as well as from ALA and its various divisions, Library Journal, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IMLS and others.
2008 ALA Emerging Leader Participants Named
BCR member libraries are well represented in the Emerging Leaders 2008 program, sponsored by the Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The program enables selected librarians from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity.
| Alaska | Sara Jeffress, Tuzzy Consortium Library |
| Colorado | Reese Evenson, Jefferson County Public Library, Arvada Bethany Sewell, University of Denver, Penrose Library |
| Idaho | Kim Leeder, Boise State University, Albertsons Library |
| Iowa | Jennifer Turner, Waldorf College |
| Kansas | Regina Beard, Kansas State University Jennie McCraw, Kansas State University Libraries |
| Nevada | Carla Land, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District |
| Oregon | Laurie Bridges, Oregon State University Allinee Flanary, Mount Hood Community College |
| Utah | Holly Cole, Weber County Library Jared Howland, Brigham Young University |
| Washington | Laura Park, Pierce County Library System, Tacoma Valerie Wonder, Seattle Public Library Linda Shippert, Washington State University |
Awards and Grants Presented
The Idaho Library Association named Anne Hankins of the Kuna Library District (Kuna, ID) director, Librarian of the Year, noting that the library is a real community center for the area's 14,000 residents. In Wyoming, Karen Lange, library director for the Laramie County Community College-Ludden Library, was named Librarian of the Year. Barb Brattin, Wilkinson Public Library, Telluride, received the Colorado Library Association's Librarian of the Year award.
Freya Anderson, head of Public Services, Alaska State Library, was named one of eight 2007 Copyright Scholars by the ALA Copyright Advisory Committee. She received special training in Washington, D.C., and will continue to devote a portion of her weekly schedule to respond to copyright queries posted to the Copyright Advisory Network (CAN).
Winners of the Washington Library Association President's award were announced in July. State librarian Jan Walsh was recognized for her leadership as the Washington State Library narrowly escaped closure and was forced to downsize and reorganize. Carol Schuyler of the Kitsap Regional Library was rewarded for her service to the Washington Library Association, including her stint as president.
Several library directors from rural libraries in Colorado received scholarships to attend the 2007 American Library Association Conference held in Washington, D.C., this past June. They included Judy Van Acker, Director of the John C. Freemont Public Library in Florence; Patti Chapman, director of the Park County Public Library in Fairplay; and Sue Keefer, director of the Las Animas-Bent County Library District in Las Animas.
Library directors from Montana were also able to attend the annual ALA conference courtesy of grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Traveling to Washington were Renee Goss (Sidney Public Library), Bridgett Johnson (Lewistown Public Library), Renee McGrath (North Valley Public Library, Stevensville), Jodi Oberweiser (Drummond Library) and Sami Pierson (Libby Public Library).
The Lawrence Public Library (KS) announced that Pattie Johnston, Senior Outreach coordinator, received the very first Professional of the Year for Excellence in Senior Advocacy award from the Lawrence Area Partners in Aging (LAPA). Johnston was recognized for her involvement in many areas of senior and aging issues.
Sue Sherif, School Library/Youth Services coordinator, Alaska State Library, received the Alaska Center for the Book CLIA (Contributions to Literacy in Alaska) award for her outstanding and long-term work in literacy efforts in Fairbanks and Anchorage.
The 2007 Agnes Milstead Distinguished Librarianship Award was given to Robert Staley, University of Wyoming Libraries' government documents librarian. The award recognizes significant contributions to UW Libraries in scholarship, program development, teaching, fundraising or improving access to library resources.
The Custer County (Colorado) School District Library received the American Library Association's Bookapalooza grant, which provides the school library with 1,000 new books, copyrighted between 2005-2006, and worth an estimated $17,000 to $20,000. The average copyright date of the old collection was 1982.
The Grand County Public Library in Moab (Utah) received the Best Small Library in America Award. The award is cosponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Library Journal, and is given to a library for its excellence in providing access to knowledge and learning for residents and visitors.
School Library Journal, in partnership with Thomson Gale named Fort Washakie School/Community Library and Technology Center a co-winner of the 2007 Giant Step Award, granting a cash award of $5,000. Located on the Wind River Indian Reservation, this small community/school library is being recognized for its significantly improved program and services and the resulting positive impact on student learning and achievement.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded the Denver Public Library's Western History/Genealogy Department a $778,000 grant for the Library's Creating Communities: Digitizing Denver's Historic Neighborhoods project. "The project will create a centralized digital repository of materials about Denver," said Jim Kroll, manager of the Western History/Genealogy Department.
A $30,000 IMLS grant was awarded to the Libraries of Eastern Oregon (LEO) for its project "A Sense of Place," a plan to bring a range of themed programs in the arts, sciences and humanities to rural communities around the region in 2008 and 2009. Also, IMLS announced Native American Library Services Enhancement grants to support tribal libraries in the BCR member states of Alaska, Montana and Washington.
In Alaska, the Sutton Public Library and the Ketchikan Public Library were awarded grants from the Rasmuson Foundation, in the amounts of $4,400 and $25,000 respectively. Sutton Public Library will use its funds to upgrade its multimedia collection and equipment, and the Ketchikan Public Library plans to purchase a van for outreach library services to homebound and institutionalized library patrons.
The School of Library and Information Management (SLIM) at Emporia State University (Kansas) was the recipient of a $1.875 million endowment from Martha Kruse Furber, alumni and life-long public librarian.
Laura Bush Foundation Grants
The Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries Awards are given to school libraries to expand, update and diversify their library book collections. Five schools in the Lower Kuskokwim School District (AK) received up to $5,000 each, plus another three in Alaska, as well as BCR member libraries in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
Celebrations and Grand Openings
Dodge City (Kansas) Public Library is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Also celebrating 100th anniversaries are the Fremont County (Wyoming) Public Library System's Lander Carnegie Library and the Marshall Public Library, Pocatello (Idaho).
The Utah State Library celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 13, with a gala reception hosted by Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., and First Lady Mary Kaye Huntsman, at the Governor's Mansion. The State Library began in the Governor's Mansion horse stables half a century ago and has now progressed into a statewide cutting edge library system with bookmobile service, an online library, state-of-the-art technical systems and programs for the blind and disabled.
The 40th anniversary of the Aubrey R. Watzek Library at Lewis & Clark College (Oregon) is being commemorated by a series of events hosted by the library during the academic year.
Groundbreaking for the new addition to and renovation of the William Robertson Coe Library at the University of Wyoming was held October 5. A five-story, 92,765 square-foot addition is planned. The original 188,656 square-foot existing building will undergo extensive renovation.
The new University of Colorado Denver and Health Sciences center opened its new 113,000 square-foot Health Sciences Library at the Anschutz Medical Campus on October 15.
The new Laramie (Wyoming) County Library in Cheyenne opened its doors in September. The new 100,000 square-foot library building was made possible when voters in 2003 approved $26.9 million through sixth-penny funds.
Other new library facilities were opened including Library District #2 of Linn County, LcCygne (Kansas); the Coeur D'Alene (Idaho) Public Library, a $6.6 million, 38,500-square-foot, lodge-style facility; Lakewood Library, part of the Jefferson County (Colorado) Public Library, reopened August 24 after an extensive renovation.
Librarians Using New Technology
BCR member libraries are finding new ways to reach their patrons. The Douglas County (Colorado) Public Library recently contracted with DC The Network, Douglas County's local government cable station to produce a public service announcement. Take a look at the impressive result on YouTube.
A group of Dutch librarians chronicled their cross-country trip across the United States to the Internet Librarian conference in Monterey, California, in an online documentary blog. As they worked their way west, they visited a number of libraries on their route. Share their observations and see brief videos for the period October 22-25, as they visited Council Bluffs (Iowa) Public Library, Denver Public Library, Florence (Colorado) Public Library and Salt Lake City Public Library.