Winners! LibraryAware 2017

Winners of the the 2017 LibraryAware Community Award are....

1st place: The Fairmont City Library Center, part of the Mississippi Valley Library District in Illinois. 

A "laser maze" made of string gets teens
working together at Fairmont City Library Center.
(All photos courtesy of Library Journal)

Just 2,635 people live in the Village of Fairmont City, Ill., and 71.4 percent are immigrants who speak Spanish as their first or only language. The library demonstrated its commitment to focus on the community’s priorities and to make a difference in the lives of its citizens. Fairmont City Library Center gets a first prize of $10,000.

Catawba County Library
worked with many groups
and teams in its community.

2nd place: Catawba County Library in North Carolina was awarded second place and will receive $7,500. It’s been collaborating with community groups to facilitate conversations; they are working to develop a new partnership with the housing authority and local police to enable race and relationship conversations between the police and the community members.

KCPL hosted events to discuss economic
 inequities within its metropolitan area

3rd place: Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) in Missouri took third place and will receive $5,000. It’s been extending its efforts via a full-time refugee and immigrant services outreach manager who coordinates citizenship preparation and helps connect immigrant populations with KCPL’s other services, resources, and lifelong learning opportunities.

The LibraryAware Community Award is given by Library Journal and underwritten by LibraryAware, a product that helps librarians design promotion materials. The honor recognizes libraries that have demonstrated their ability to make the community aware of what the library can do for it. Prizes are awarded to both the library and its city or town. Read details about all of these extraordinary efforts in Library Journal: http://bit.ly/LJ-LibAware17.