|
BPL’s HAP matches elementary and middle school students with high school students for help with homework, providing meaningful opportunities for all participants. The program runs after school and on Saturdays in the Central Library and each of the library’s 27 branches. In 2008, the library predicts they will serve more than 700 kids in 11,900 mentoring sessions. “The vision of HAP is to build a community in which high schoolers are empowered and recognized as leaders and community builders through their role as caring, reliable, and professional mentors to younger children,” said Ruth Kowal, BPL’s Deputy Director. “In turn, these younger children now have a better chance at achieving their own victories.”
Highsmith 2008 press release
Toronto Public Library (TPL) Director Josephine “Jo” Bryant will be awarded the 2008 Urban Libraries Council (ULC) Urban Player Award for her role in successfully integrating seven distinct library systems into one and then, using the integration as an opportunity for the library to play a more central role in the lives of Torontonians. “Jo’s vision of amalgamation as an opportunity for TPL to play a more central and seminal role in the city has moved the Library into the mainstream of the city’s cultural life and economic promise,” said Kathy Gallagher Ross, Chair of the TPL Board. “She achieved this by working with the Board, reaching out to elected officials and the community, and by aligning the library with the city’s key objectives.”
Urban Player 2008 press release
Ms. Lee will attend the Leadership Lab offered through the Executive Education Program of the Brookings Institution in Warrenton, Virginia. ULC’s Joey Rodger Grant program aims to seed the library industry with innovative public sector leadership training. “The buzz phrase we most typically hear in our business is the value of ‘library as place,’” said Ms. Lee. “I believe that ‘the place of the library’ -- where we are positioned, our status, our ranking within the larger organization -- is what will help us get the resources we need to perform important work. It takes strong leadership to strategically position the library to its best advantage.”
Joey Fund for Library Leadership press release |
