2001 Christopher J. Hoy/ERT Scholarship winners named

Contact: Maxine Moore


312-280-4279

ALA News Release


For Immediate Release


August 2001

2001 Christopher J. Hoy/ERT Scholarship winners named

Melissa H. Gotsch of Columbus, Ohio, and Dawn M. Thornton of College Point, N.Y., are the winners of the American Library Association (ALA) Christopher J. Hoy/ERT Scholarship.

The $3,000 scholarship was established by a donation from Hoy's family and the Exhibits Round Table. The scholarship is awarded to persons pursuing a master's degree in library and information studies. Hoy was the director of ALA Conference Services for more than 20 years.

Gotsch is the children's library assistant at the Gahanna Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library System. Some of her most vivid childhood memories are of visiting the small library in her hometown.

Gotsch believes in the importance of introducing children and young adults to library resources, and says she "wants to make the love of reading an epidemic." She will be attending the University of Pittsburgh.

Thornton currently works at The Library of America, a publisher of authoritative editions of American writing.

"From my first day working in the rare book room at Smith College, I knew that it was an environment for which I was suited," Thornton said.

Thornton will be attending Indiana University.

The winners were recognized in June during the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco.