Savannah, Georgia librarian receives national public service honor

NEW YORK – Today Mary Jo Fayoyin, dean of library and media services at Savannah State University in Georgia, was named a winner of this year’s I Love My Librarian Award. Fayoyin is being recognized for her leadership in transforming lives and communities through education and lifelong learning. She is one of only 10 librarians in the country this year to receive this national honor.

Fayoyin is commended for creating a nurturing learning environment where students can grow and realize their full potential. She draws on students’ feedback to continue to meet their changing needs, whether it’s expanding library hours, installing additional software on library computers or creating a presentation and collaboration room.

With a grant, Fayoyin established an information literacy program to help students improve their research skills and write stronger papers. Fayoyin also hosts programs in the library to address student concerns. For one event, Fayoyin invited accountants to speak to students about managing their money and establishing good credit.

Fayoyin’s efforts have turned the library into a welcoming place where students feel comfortable asking for help, as well as collaborating with each other and with staff and faculty. Students now view the library as a valuable partner in their academic success.

Fayoyin will receive a $5,000 prize at an award ceremony and reception to be held this evening in New York City. The ceremony is hosted by Carnegie Corporation of New York, which co-sponsors the award along with The New York Public Library and The New York Times. The American Library Association administers the award through its Public Awareness Office, which promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

As part of the award process, library users are invited to nominate librarians working in public, school, college, community college and university libraries. This year 1,125 nominations were submitted by library users nationwide detailing how their favorite librarians have gone above and beyond to improve community members’ lives.

In the United States there are 190,000 librarians working in libraries of all types, and only 100 librarians have been selected for this distinguished honor since the award’s inception in 2008.

This year’s award recipients include three academic librarians, four public librarians and three school librarians. A complete list of the 2017 I Love My Librarian Award recipients can be found at ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian. To share information about the winners and the importance of their work in the community please use #ILoveMyLibrarian on social media.

About Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 “to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation's work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy.

About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.

About the American Library Association
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 57,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.