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CHICAGO - This year’s winner of the ASGCLA Exceptional Service Award is Nili Ness. She has streamlined and strengthened Queens Public Library’s lending library and reference services at two local jail facilities at Rikers Island and has more than doubled the number of patrons served since she first started as an outreach assistant in 2017. She created the procedures and policies surrounding the service, and designed the system to track circulation and statistics. She maintains relationships with leadership and staff within NYC Department of Corrections, the library system, and the two sister library systems in the city to ensure that every avenue is taken to provide the best service to patrons who are incarcerated. She also initiated and acts as a liaison for the interlibrary loans between the Library and a local prison: Queensboro Correctional Facility.

ASGCLA thanks COSLA, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, for supporting the 2020 Awards program. The Association for Specialized Government and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASGCLA), has been the premiere destination for 91´«Ã½ members to find information and build capacity to serve populations that are served by state library agencies, federal and armed forces libraries, libraries serving underserved populations, library cooperatives and library consultants. ASGCLA enhances the effectiveness of library service by advocating for and providing high quality networking, enrichment and educational opportunities for its diverse members.