Purpose
To recognize the legacy of a public library staff member whose career has exemplified distinguished service with outstanding accomplishments and contributions to their local community, throughout their region, or the state. This award is not only for retirees or soon-to-be retirees.
Criteria:
● The nominee/s must be a current individual or institutional member of the Kentucky Public Library Association.
● Nominee must have at least ten (10) years of library experience, have worked in a Kentucky public library or library-related organization, and demonstrated a commitment to Kentucky public libraries.
● Nominee must have made substantial contributions in areas such as (but not limited to):
○ Provided innovative service to the community, which has enhanced the image or visibility of the library.
○ Promoted collaboration among libraries and librarians; or Partnerships and/or networking with others for the benefit of libraries.
○ Demonstrated leadership in professional and community activities; or Mentored and/or empowered library staff to achieve significant
professional growth.
○ Initiated leading-edge ideas that can be modelled or scaled for other
libraries’ use; or Been a catalyst in special areas such as intellectual
freedom, library innovation, outreach, and/or equity, diversity and
inclusion.
○ Sustained a strong and consistent body of work over time.
Rules:
● Nominations may be made by anyone in the library field (staff, trustees, Friends).
● Nominations should be concise, responding to the criteria above. Submit no more than two pages of narrative, with no more than three pages of supportive material (newspaper clippings, photos, etc.).
○ The written nomination statement should support three or more of the applicable contributions above.
● Nominations should include a minimum of two letters of support and a maximum of four. Letters should be limited to no more than two pages. One letter must be provided by a library trustee from the nominee’s board of trustees or the library director. Other letters may be provided by colleagues, library staff, Friends, community leaders, or others as determined to be appropriate to demonstrate the above criteria.
● The information and the quality of the application shall be the sole basis of selection. Any application not meeting the criteria above will be disqualified.
● The KPLA Awards Committee will review the nominations annually and present qualified nominees to the KPLA Executive Committee for final consideration and selection.
● The KPLA Awards Committee may choose to make no award in any given year if the quality of the nominations is not determined to be satisfactory.
● All nominations must be signed. No anonymous nominations will be considered.