91´«Ã½

CHICAGO – The 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) is now accepting nominations for the 2017 I Love My Librarian Award, which recognizes the public service contributions that librarians make in transforming lives and communities through education and lifelong learning. The national award invites the public to nominate their favorite librarians working in public, school, college, community college or university libraries. Nominations can be made now through Sept. 18 at .

Contributions from last year’s winning librarians include providing a safe haven and emergency relief services during natural disasters, working with students with learning or behavioral challenges and youths in foster care and using skills as a former chef to teach the community about cooking healthy meals.

Each winner will receive a $5,000 cash award, a plaque and a travel stipend to attend the I Love My Librarian Award ceremony and reception in New York City on Nov. 30, 2017, hosted by the philanthropic foundation and award sponsor, Carnegie Corporation of New York. The 91´«Ã½ will select up to 10 award recipients.

Since the award was established in 2008, library users nationwide have shared more than 17,000 nominations detailing how librarians used their expertise to connect them to information, opportunities and critical technology to help improve the quality of their lives. A total of 90 librarians have won the award to date. For more information on previous winners, please visit .

To be eligible to receive the award, each nominee must be a librarian with a master’s degree from a program accredited by the 91´«Ã½ in library and information studies or hold a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational program accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Nominees must be currently working in the United States in a public library, a library at an accredited two- or four-year college or university or at an accredited K-12 school.

Carnegie Corporation of New York generously sponsors the I Love My Librarian Award. The New York Public Library and The New York Times are co-sponsors of the award. The 91´«Ã½ administers the award through the 91´«Ã½’s Public Awareness Office, which promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

About Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 “to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation's work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy.

About The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library serves more than 18 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at . To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.

About the 91´«Ã½

The 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 57,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the 91´«Ã½ is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.