Jane Mirandette receives 2015 John Ames Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award

CHICAGO — Jane Mirandette is this year’s recipient of the American Library Association (ALA) International Relations Committee’s John Ames/Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award.

OCLC/Forest Press donated the cash award of $1,000, which is given to an individual for significant contribution to international librarianship.

Mirandette receives this award for her exceptional contributions to international librarianship during her professional career.  In 2003, she founded the Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Program (HJH), a Colorado-based, tax-exempt, charitable foundation established in 2003 to support the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca and to promote lending libraries in Central America. Mirandette is also being recognized for her support of the San Juan del Sur Biblioteca, the first full-service lending library in Nicaragua, located in the coastal town of San Juan del Sur.  In addition, HJH has actively participated in ANIBIPA, (Asociación Nicaraguense de Bibliotecarios y Profesionales Afines) the national library organization, and provided consultation to librarians and other non-profits in Nicaragua and other neighboring countries giving children the opportunity to learn to love to read and increasing literacy to an entire geographic region.

Through the HJH Library in a Box Program she developed a unique service abroad volunteer program that since 2005 to the present brings volunteers, of all ages and all service styles, medical, school and church programs to experience assisting with literacy in a third world setting including University Credit Courses with University of Maryland, Lasallae College and Simmons College. She designed the HJH Library in a Box Recipient Program, which has helped facilitate the initiation of 55 other lending library projects, in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and two in El Salvador. In 2014 alone, four new programs were initiated.

In 2006, Mirandette helped facilitate the Nicaraguan Library Association, ANIBIPA’s inclusion in the Campaign for the World’s Libraries,  campaign and works with that group’s yearly campaign and Simmons College of Library Science to bring workshops to the at large Nicaraguan Library Community as well as the burgeoning Library in a Box partnership of sustainable lending libraries.

Mirandette is a member of ALA’s International Relations Round Table (IRRT) International Sustainable Libraries, IFLA, and REFORMA.  In June 2009, she received the ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects award and in 2010 was recognized by ANBIPA, the Nicaraguan Library Association for promoting and supporting the lending model for Nicaraguan libraries.

The ALA IRC Humphry Award Subcommittee determined that, "Jane's reputation for her generosity and expertise has spread across Nicaragua and the region causing her to be sought after by schools, libraries and other non-profits who wish to set up simple libraries in their areas."  

Mrs. Mirandette will be recognized during the International Reception on Monday, June 29 at the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco.