91´«Ã½

Box Elder, Mont., librarian receives national public service honor

NEW YORK – Today Joy Bridwell, librarian at Stone Child College in Box Elder, Montana, was named a winner of this year’s I Love My Librarian Award. Bridwell is recognized for her leadership in transforming lives and communities through education and lifelong learning. She is one of only 10 librarians in the country this year to receive this national honor.

Bridwell is commended for her work at Stone Child College, which is located on a tribal reservation and serves as an academic and public library for the community of Rocky Boy. At the college, she has sat on several committees and held events that have brought thousands of patrons into the library. Some of these events have been so popular that they have become annual events. One event, the “Rocky Boy’s Got Talent” contest, brought in 150 people with 34 participants.

She works closely with students in their preparation for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium Knowledge Bowl and the consortium’s student conference. In addition, she creates Cree Language materials for the college and the community, as well as partnering with elders in the community to add materials to the tribal archive.

She recently completed a one-year term as president of the Tribal College & University Library Association, where she worked with other tribal colleges to obtain funding for digital media. Her efforts resulted in a $1,000 grant from the American Indian College Fund, which provided funds used to purchase education media for the library.

“I am honored to be recognized for the work that I do for all of my patrons, the college and the community that I serve,” Bridwell said. “I want to change the way that people look and think about libraries….I want everyone in my community to know that the library is here for them.”

Bridwell will receive a $5,000 prize at an award ceremony and reception to be held this evening in New York City. The ceremony is hosted by Carnegie Corporation of New York, which co-sponsors the award along with The New York Public Library and The New York Times. The 91´«Ã½ administers the award through its Communications and Marketing Office, which promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

As part of the award process, library users are invited to nominate librarians working in public, school, college, community college and university libraries. This year library users submitted 1,083 nominations detailing how their favorite librarians have gone above and beyond to improve community members’ lives.

In the United States there are 160,000 librarians working in libraries of all types, and only 110 librarians have been selected for this distinguished honor since the award’s inception in 2008.

This year’s award recipients include four academic librarians, three public librarians and three school librarians. A complete list of the 2018 I Love My Librarian Award recipients can be found at . To share information about the winners and the importance of their work in the community please use on social media.

Photos of the award recipients are available at .

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 .

About the 91´«Ã½

91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, 91´«Ã½ has been the trusted voice of libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit . To contribute to support 91´«Ã½’s work, visit .

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