91´«Ã½

Melissa Pillot recognized with national public service honor 

CHICAGO – Melissa Pillot, librarian and media specialist at Forsyth School in St. Louis, Missouri, is a winner of this year’s I Love My Librarian Award. Recognized by the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) for her outstanding efforts to promote sustainability on her school’s campus, Pillot was selected from more than 1,300 nominations from library users across the country.

At the start of her tenure at Forsyth School, Pillot quickly introduced an array of sustainability-themed programming and instructional initiatives, including storytimes for younger students about caring for the planet and each other and encouraging older students to use information literacy strategies to evaluate recycling facts and myths and communicate their findings. Because of her efforts and their success, she received the school’s annual “Go Green” award within her first year.

One nominator highlighted a multi-week, cross-curricular event Pillot planned in collaboration with the school’s sustainability teacher that focused on single-use plastics and plastic bag usage that would be visible and meaningful to the entire school. Students applied research skills to learn more about the plastics industry lobby, plastic bag production, recycling and alternatives to plastic bags, then calculated how many bags most families use. The students then shared their findings with younger students in a hopeful, empowering way.

“While the pandemic changed many things in our homes and on our school grounds, Melissa continues to be a champion and a steward for the earth,” one of her nominators wrote. “No topic is too big to tackle, and no task is too small. We love our librarian who loves the earth.”

Pillot and this year’s nine other honorees will each receive a $5,000 cash prize, a $750 donation to their library, and complimentary registration to 91´«Ã½’s LibLearnX. The virtual award ceremony will take place during the conference at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 and will be available to stream live at .

Since the award’s inception in 2008, library users have shared more than 20,000 nominations detailing how librarians have gone above and beyond to promote literacy, expand access to technology and support diversity and inclusion in their communities. Information regarding previous award winners can be found on the I Love My Librarian website at . 

Carnegie Corporation of New York generously sponsors the I Love My Librarian Award. The New York Public Library also supports the award. 91´«Ã½ administers the award through its Communications and Marketing 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: education, international peace, and a strong 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 nearly 17 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 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, the 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 ala.org.

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