H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant recipient named
Contact: Cheryl Malden
Program Officer
312-280-3247
For Immediate Release
March 18, 2005
H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant recipient named
CHICAGO - The American Library Association is pleased to announce that the Broward County Library in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is the 2005 winner of the H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant. This award is presented annually to a library whose award application demonstrates the greatest need for a staff development program that will further the goals and objectives of the library. The award is donated by the H.W. Wilson Company and consists of a citation and $3,500 to assist with the development of a library staff-training program.
The Broward County Library will use the award to offer its year-long Broward County Library Leadership Institute to twenty staff members, both professional and paraprofessional, who show promise as leaders and have demonstrated enthusiasm, optimism, and vision for the library services of tomorrow. Realizing that quality libraries require effective leaders to manage and motivate staff to provide quality services to library users, the library created a challenging curriculum to foster leadership at all levels within its organization.
Leadership skills will be developed over a year-long series of monthly full-day sessions taught by senior managers of the library as well as by other leaders from throughout the county. The one-day-a-month format gives institute participants the opportunity to apply the new skills and/or knowledge they’ve learned when they return to their branch or department, insuring reinforcement and encouraging feedback.
The Broward County Library Leadership Institute’s 10 sessions stress personal growth, leadership principals, creative thinking, communication, decision-making, planning, teamwork and networking. Overall, the institute requires a substantial commitment of time, effort, and resources from both the participants and the instructors. But just as importantly, it takes a proactive approach to the real need within the library science profession to recruit and retain top-notch personnel by giving them a chance for growth and advancement.
The Broward County Library Leadership Institute was successfully implemented in 2003/2004, so it has a proven track record. Its thorough evaluation and assessment component, including measurable expected outcomes and overwhelmingly positive feedback from previous participants and their supervisors, attests to its effectiveness. The grant will cover just about a fifth of its cost. The Broward County Library Foundation will fund the rest.
Members of the 2005 H.W. Wilson Staff Development Award committee are: Chair Linda Louise Chopra, Avon Lake Public Library, Avon Lake, Ohio; Dottie R. Hiebing, Metropolitan New York Library Council, New York; Roberta Thomas, Grayslake Area Public Library, Grayslake, Ill.; Beth Thomsett-Scott, University Of North Texas, Denton, Texas; Diane Young Turner, Yale Library, New Haven, Conn.
The H.W. Wilson Grant will be presented Tuesday, June 28, during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.
