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PAST NEWS ARCHIVE
April 3, 2002
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442

Austin Public Library Staff Recognized with Prestigious Industry Awards

Jeanette, left and Michele, right.

Jeanette Larson, Youth Services Manager recently received the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Children's Library Service. This award recognizes an outstanding Texas Librarian who works with children from preschool to eighth grade. The nominees are evaluated on the basis of innovative programs, a sustained high level of performance, leadership ability, involvement in professional organizations, community involvement, and cooperation with parents and other libraries, especially outside their own system. Jeanette exceeds in all these categories.

She has been with the Austin Public Library system since December of 2001 from the Texas State Library to manage the Youth Services Program. She manages over 25 youth librarians, Wired for Youth Librarians, and youth specialists at 21 locations across the City of Austin. She has effectively managed reading programs, special events, author visits, and special projects. She has managed and organized the start up of the new Michael and Susan Dell Wired for Youth Centers. This Wired for Youth program is regarded among libraries as a model. She continually shares information on APL's cutting edge programs with other Libraries around the country. She has demonstrated strong leadership abilities in last year's reorganization of Youth Services. This entailed finding ways to effectively and efficiently deliver youth programs and services across the entire library system with less resources—the task was accomplished with much success. These are just a few of Jeanette's contribution to the Austin Public Library and the Library profession at large and why she is deserving of such a prestigious award. She will be honored at the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference Bluebonnet luncheon Thursday, April 25, 2002 at noon.

The American Library Association awarded the Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers grant to one of APL's youth librarians—Michele Gorman who came to Austin Public Library in March of 2001 as a technical information librarian to manage the Wired for Youth Center at the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library. These awards, made possible by an annual gift from the Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, are administered by a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children. They enable four children's librarians (in the Country) to attend the ALA's Annual Conference to be held in Atlanta, June 13-19, 2002. The award is $600, which goes towards the travel and attendance at the ALA conference.

In just a year Michele has organized programs and events for the Wired for Youth Center at Carver with a young girls program called Sister Soldiers, a newsletter advisory team, and several events in which the kids participate in fundraising activities. For more information about Wired@Carver visit the Web site at www.wiredforyouth.com/acb/.

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