91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — Jane Kinney Meyers is this year’s recipient of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) International Relations Committee’s John Ames/Humphry/OCLC/ Forest Press Award.

OCLC/Forest Press donated the cash award of $1,000, which is given to an individual for significant contribution to international librarianship.

Jane Kinney Meyers received this award for her significant contributions to international librarianship. Meyers’ 35 years of experience include consulting, teaching and working with libraries throughout the African continent. After receiving her MLS, Jane began working on contracts for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she organized libraries for the Women in Development, the Sahel Development Program and Asia Bureaus, among others.

Meyers worked for many years on the organization and dissemination for agricultural information internationally through her work at the World Bank, F.A.O. , U.S. National Agricultural Library and various consultancies for international development organizations. While working with Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture, she pioneered CD-ROM applications in Africa and established a network of agricultural libraries. A key accomplishment was the establishment of the first professional posts for librarians in Malawi’s civil service.

Meyers is the founder and president of the , which has become a perfect example of international development project design and sustainable development. The is dedicated to the development of libraries for children in Africa. The first Lubuto Library opened in Zambia in 2007, with former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda presenting the dedication.

“Over the course of three and a half decades she has dedicated herself to the advancement of libraries, librarianship, literacy and international understanding as a librarian, a teacher, a consultant and an administrator. She has worked tirelessly on the African continent through universities, for-profit and not-for-profit agencies, governmental entities and African governments to strengthen and make available resources and services for the information poor. Her culminating achievement is the establishment of the Lubuto Library Project, a model of sustainable library development and innovation. She has made a lasting impact on African libraries and librarianship. Jane Kinney Meyers is a most worthy winner of the Humphry/OCLC award”.

Jane Kinney Meyers will be recognized during the International Librarians Reception on Monday, June 25 at the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.