Sara Kelly Johns receives 2018 Norman Horrocks-Rowman & Littlefield Annual Conference Award

CHICAGO — The Retired Members Round Table of the American Library Association is pleased to announce that this year’s recipient of The Norman Horrocks-Rowman & Littlefield Annual Conference Award is Sara Kelly Johns.

This award honors the late Dr. Norman Horrocks, who was an active participant in the American Library Association both during career and in retirement. Over decades he regularly attended ALA’s Annual Conference and generously shared his knowledge with members too numerous to count or name. He exemplified the RMRT spirit summarized in “I retired from my job but not from my profession.”

Johns has exemplified that spirit since retiring from “a full-time job teaching as a school librarian in a building.” She continues to build on that experience by serving as an online adjunct professor teaching Literacy through School Libraries for the Syracuse University iSchool.  

Her sustained record of contributions to the profession include:

• New York Regents Advisory Council for Libraries
• Lake Placid Educational Foundation Board
• President of the American Association of School Librarians
• ALA Council member
• Executive Board of the American Library Association
• New York Library Association Lifetime Achievement Award
• President of the New York Library Association
• Named 2017 AASL Social Media Superstar Advocacy Ambassador
• Numerous conference presentations on varied topics
• Author of numerous journal articles and book chapters

She says that it will be “a new experience to have a travel stipend” as she continues Dr. Horrock’s example whose “intelligent, savvy opinions and advice” she received from him when she first served on the ALA Council.

To be eligible for the RMRT Norman Horrocks-Rowman & Littlefield Annual Conference Travel Award one must:

• Be a member of ALA and RMRT
• Be retired from full-time paid employment
• Have a record of active involvement in the American Library Association prior to retirement
• Has not previously received the Norman Horrocks-Rowman & Littlefield Annual Conference Travel Award

The recipient will be reimbursed up to $1,000 in actual expenses, supported by generally acceptable receipts.  An application form can be found on the ALA website at http://www.ala.org/rmrt/awardform.