The 2009 PARA Awards

The Paralibrarian Section of MLA announced their annual awards at their workshop this morning. They give two awards each year, Paralibrarian of the Year and Paralibrarian Advocate of the Year. Denise Faucher presented the following awards:

Paralibrarian of the Year

There were 21 nominees this year. Denise shared the names of the nominees and a bit of information about each person from their nomination, and gave them certificates.

• Claudette Bright, of the Boston Public Library, whittles away at the backlog cheerfully


• Laurel Cannon, of the Boston Public Library, has created wonderful connections with teens. They come in to hug her!


• Julio Chang, of the Boston Public Library IT department, is a “hidden gem” who puts the “help” in helpdesk


• Melissa Chase, of Bourne Public Library, started a Rock and Read program – 5 local rock bands raised funds for the library


• Cecilia Darling, of the Maxwell Library at Bridgewater State College, has worked hard supervising students while her supverisor was out on vacation.
  Maryann Dastoli, of the Pittsfield School System Elementary Libraries, takes an annual trip to Tennessee for the National Storytelling Festival and shares new ideas.


• Betty Emery runs the Supplemental Deposit Collection for the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System, and creates close relationships with library vendors.


• Barbara Diamond Goldin, of the Easthampton Library, provides outstanding patron services despite many constraints.


• Deborah Jankowski, of the Taconic High School Library, is re-cataloging the entire library while it is being weeded.


• Barbara Lorentzen, of the Jonathan Bourne Public Library, brings in her own materials to repair books the old-fashioned way – with spine webbing and glue.


• Hannele Minsk, who works in tech services at the Kingston Public Library, created and ran a teen advisory board for 3 years.


• Jacqueline Mushinski, of the Gordon Library at WPI, loves to do audio and video editing, and has created podcasts and vodcasts for the library’s website.


• Judith Poulin, of Easthampton Elementary, served as Grand Marshall of the Easthampton Elementary vocabulary parade – three years after she retired!


• Susan Robert , of the Blanding Public Library in Rehoboth, organized her town’s first town-wide read.


• Susan Shaffer, of the Forbes Library in Northampton, always goes above and beyond to help patrons and other staff members.


• Rusty Shaw , of the Wheeler Memorial Library, proved that no patron request is beyond her consideration - she processes and circulates knitting needles!


• Joan Sterns, of the Worcester Public Library, meets regularly with other librarians and paralibrarians in her area to discuss the preservation of valuable items in the collection.


• Donna Tappin, of the Tahanto Middle School Library, is a powerhouse of information and very user-focused, patient, and kind.


• Mary Ellen West, of the Maxwell Library at Bridgewater State College, has the motto “we can do it and we can prove it”.


• Kendrah White, of the Temple Israel Library in Boston, always has an “above and beyond” attitude and always goes the extra mile to help patrons or share ideas in the library.


• Nancy Wilson, of Becket Atheneum works 10+ volunteer hours a week at the library so the staff can offer programming beyond what their budget allows.

Betty Emery is the 2009 Paralibrarian of the Year. Her nominators said that she creates collections of highest quality for the Northeast Region’s Supplemental Deposit Collection, which is housed at the Merrimac Public Library. She seeks out and creates excellent relationships with vendors. Betty is professional, with great attitude, and is always looking for ways to increase circulation. She sends funny, engaging emails to libraries, using fun themes like holidays, sports, or seasonal topics. Last year she even wrote a script and acted it out for the NMRLS Executive Board. Her efforts have increased circulation of the collection by 36%. She plans an annual Open House at the library for the collection, and makes sure everyone leaves with gifts provided by vendors. She maintains a diverse, robust, current collection for NMRLS members. The nominator said Betty took on the task of managing the collection and hasn’t looked back.

Betty commented that she hoped this award is a reflection on the Supplemental Deposit Collection and its impact on smaller libraries in the Northeast Region. She says she started the job 5 years ago, looking for a challenge and something fun. The challenge continues and so does the fun!

Paralibrarian Advocate of the Year

This award is given to a director, supervisor, or paralibrarian who understands the value of paralibrarians in libraries, and works to increase opportunities for paralibrarians.

There were 5 nominations this year:

• Susan Babb


• Carolyne Longworth


• Leslie Todd


• Michael Somers


• Michael Colford

The 2009 Paralibrarian Advocate of the Year is Susan Babb. Susan’s nominator pointed out that Susan always holds paralibrarians in the forefront of her work at the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System. She teaches workshops specifically for paralibrarians, and makes sure they are represented in all aspects of services provided by the Region. She has worked with the Paralibrarian Section on creating a mission and vision, on the creation of the Book Cart Drill Team Competition, and many other projects. She is a role model for librarians in her Region and across the state. Susan is a supporter, mentor, and friend, who has truly changed lives of those around her.

Drill Teams Rock!

"Sex trumps Violence!" said children's author Mo Willems as he handed out first place to the team that "sexed it up" for the 2nd Annual Massachusetts Book Cart Drill Championships.
In their pink cowgirl duds, the Plymouth library staff, strutted their stuff to "I feel like a woman". The competition was close with the costumed Batman characters of Andover springing their Demco carts into action. And although they took bronze, Methuen sparkled in golden tophats. Demco generously donates gift certificates for their products to the winning libraries and promotes the Book Cart Drill Teams throughout the country. The "Nationals" will be held in Chicago this year at the annual American Library Association Conference in July.

And the Winner Is...Paralibrarian Awards and the PARA presentation

The Fourth Annual Awards Presentation, presented by the MLA Paralibrarian Section

Each year the Paralibrarian Section presents two awards, for Outstanding Paralibrarian of the Year and Paralibrarian Advocate of the Year, as well as the awarding of the PARA certificates of achievement to paralibrarians who have collected points and obtained certification levels I, II, or III. The meeting was presented by Denise Faucher, the committee member in charge of awards.

She opened the ceremony with a show of hands from the crowd to establish how many paralibrarians were present, as well as the number of MLS librarians in the audience. There was a fairly equal split, which reflected the impact that paralibrarians and librarians have on each other's careers. Denise presented the idea of paralibrarians as the foundation of libraries, the base upon which staffing is built as well as the support system that professional librarians count upon. Every position in the library is valuable, she said, from the director down to pages and aides.

Denise next explained the criteria which the board used to choose amongst the 15 nominations that they received for Outstanding Paralibrarian of the Year. Nominees were selected by colleagues, who submitted detailed letters explaining why their co-worker was right for the award. The committee would base their decisions on a set of criteria which they believe to exemplify the traits of an outstanding paralibrarian, essentially leading to the choice of the nominee who could most accurately be described as a problem solver with a professional attitude who strives to reach above and beyond the limitations of their job-title. According to Denise, every nomination letter received showed enormous amounts of work done by the subject.

The fifteen nominees are as follows:

Carla Burke, Brooks Free Library
Melissa Caissie, Hudson Public Library
Jeanne Crosby, Granby Free Public Library
Lois Elliott, Lawrence Public Library
Jacqueline Ellis, Haverhill Public Library
Barbara Fulchino, Robbins Public Library
Barabra Goldin, Emily Williston Memorial Library
Jo Ann Helenius, Forbush Memorial Library
Deborah Jankowski, Taconic High School Library
Sharon Keith, McGlynn School Library
Judith Lively, Amherst College Robert Frost Library
Joan Owcarsky, North Adams Public Library
Fern Sann, David and Joyce Milne Library
Susan Schaeffer, Forbes Library
Maureen Tulley, Nevins Memorial Library

The winner was Melissa Caissie of the Hudson Public Library. Melissa is a circulation/ILL supervisor who, according to her nomination letter, accomplishes tasks in a professional manner while going far beyond the limits of her job. She fills in for both reference and childrens when they are short staffed, as well as taking charge of a situation when the director is not in the building. Melissa was described as “exemplifying professionalism”. Her nomination letter explained Melissa's long history with the Hudson Public Library, where she started going as a young child when her brother worked as a page, eventually working as a page herself and finally making her way to her current position. This life-long commitment to the library has lead to Melissa's co-workers referring to her as “our Melissa”.

Melissa stepped up to receive her award, graciously thanking her colleagues.

The next award presented was that of Paralibrarian Advocate of the Year. This was presented by Committee Chairperson Gerry Deyermond. Gerry explained that this award was reserved for the director, supervisor, colleague or paralibrarian who knows the value of paralibrarians and demonstrates outstanding support for paralibrarians. Paralibrarians can't grow, Gerry said, without advocates.

This year's nominees were Hope Bodwell of the Monson Free Library and Jim Sutton of Memorial Hall Library.

The award went to Jim Sutton, who also happens to be the director of Gerry's library. Gerry presented Jim with the award, mentioning the support that he gave her in joining the Paralibrarian Section committee when the section was reformed. Gerry went on to point out Jim's equal treatment of all staff, regardless of their individual position in the library.
Jim accepted his award and explained that, when he was president of MLA in 2001, he and the board felt that it was necessary to find ways to make the organization grow. From this thought they placed a strong focus on the development of paralibrarians as members of MLA. Patrons do not know if the staff has an MLS or not, he said, therefore all staff members are equally essential in creating a properly functioning library. He stressed the importance of self-empowering staff members, through means such as the paralibrarian section, in order to give them a bigger picture of what goes on outside of their own libraries.

Next came the awarding of the PARA recognition of achievement awards. These were presented by Debbie Pennino, the committee member in charge of Career Development. This year's recipients were Carol Geary of Sutton Public library, who earned her PARA III, and Alison DaSilva, Past-Chairperson of the Paralibrarian Section committee, who received her PARA III as well. These certifications are based on three criteria, Debbie said, experience, education and professional activities.

Finally, a certificate of appreciation was given to Debbie Bockus for her diligent work in helping to establish the PARA certification program over the course of many years.