91´«Ã½

The jury for the 2019 Melvil Dewey Medal is delighted to honor June Garcia for her many accomplishments during a long, varied and distinguished career as a public library administrator, author, trainer and consultant, and advocate for public libraries at the international, national, and local levels. Among her achievements are June Garcia’s outstanding service to the profession as branch library administrator for the Phoenix Public Library and director of the San Antonio Public Library; her impact in strengthening our public libraries by developing tools to plan, measure and evaluate library services and leading countless workshops to train librarians and trustees how to manage, staff and create policies focused on results; her key role in creating and developing INELI (International Network of Emerging Library Innovators), a hugely successful component of the Gates’ Foundation’s Global Libraries program that has trained more than 400 mid-management library leaders from all parts of the world; and her extensive contributions to 91´«Ã½ through service on the 91´«Ã½ Council, Freedom to Read Foundation, and Public Library Association; and her role as mentor and role model to countless colleagues.