Caroline Ward named Grolier Foundation Award winner
Contact: Cheryl Malden
Program Officer
312-280-3247
For Immediate Release
March 31, 2005
Caroline Ward named Grolier Foundation Award winner
CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce that Caroline Ward is the recipient of the 51st annual Grolier Foundation Award. The honor will be presented Tuesday, June 28, during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, and is bestowed on a librarian whose extraordinary contributions to promoting access to books and encouraging a love of reading for lifelong learning exemplifies outstanding achievement in the profession. Ward will receive a citation and $1,000 prize, donated by Scholastic Library Publishing.
Ward has devoted her entire 36-year career to library services for children and young adults. A tireless advocate, she has never faltered in her primary goal of bringing children and books together in the most creative ways. She continues to be an inspiring and invigorating force in promoting the understanding, use and enjoyment of children's literature. Ward holds a bachelor's degree in English from Caldwell College and a master's in library science from Drexel University.
Ward has served as Children's Services Consultant for the state of Vermont for 13 years; as Children's Services Manager for the Nassau County Library System, which supports 54 member libraries, for 11 years; and currently as Coordinator of Youth Services at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, Conn. Her accomplishments include:
- Provided exceptional library services to children in a small, rural state where 90 percent of the public librarians having no professional training
- Pioneered statewide, thematic summer reading programs in New York and Vermont
- Managed the Vermont Children's Book Exhibit Center
- Initiated in-service educational programs
- Established an annual children's literature conference on Long Island
- Taught a variety of children's literature courses over 20 years as adjunct faculty at St. Michael's College, Palmer School of Library and Information Science and Pratt Institute
- Provided association leadership as president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the ALA, and served on the boards of ALSC and United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
- Chaired and served on numerous award and book evaluation committees, including the Newbery Committee, New York Library Association (NYLA) Empire State Award, Bologna Book Faire Ragazzi Prize, National Book Award and Boston Globe/Horn Book Award
- Written extensively on public library services for children and children's literature
- Initiated and served as project director for multiple grants, from “Baby Time,” a program for pre-walking babies, to “No Child Left Out,” offering services for children with special needs, to “T-MAD,” a teen services advisory board.
“Caroline's many achievements are impressive by themselves, but it is her vibrant personality, her infectious enthusiasm and boundless passion for her profession that exemplify the spirit, intent and focus of the Grolier Award,” said Grolier Award Committee Chair Julie Cummins. “Manager—leader—mentor—maven, Caroline Ward is a dynamic children's librarian who is the embodiment of the criteria for the Grolier Award.”
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic Library Publishing, a division of Scholastic, creates a multitude of products, both in print and online, for the school and public library market under the imprints of Grolier, Children's Press, Franklin Watts, and Grolier Online.