Recipients were honored at the 2023 Annual Meeting on June 2, 2023.
Congratulations to the 2023 Recipients:
Lisa Gomez, United States Military Academy
Putnam County Historian’s Office, African American History in Putnam County Collection
About this year’s recipients:
Lisa Gomez, a librarian at the United States Military Academy at West Point, worked directly with the Department of History and the cadets from the Black History Project to create and host the exhibit Foundations: Black Experiences of West Point at the USMA library in 2023. This exhibit was created to celebrate Black History Month and remained on display through March. Lisa then digitized the entire exhibit, which remains permanently available on the USMA library website.
Foundations is a particularly consciousness-raising exhibit that served to highlight important holdings at West Point. This was a gallery exhibit, which is much larger scale than a single display case, and included audio clips, video clips, and an interactive assessment.
The Putnam County Historian’s Office is represented by County Historian Jennifer Cassidy and Deputy Historian Sallie Sypher, and a team of interns and students who helped bring this project to life. Historically most libraries and archives didn’t collect resources and stories from, about, and for people of color and other minority or marginalized groups. Several years ago, the Putnam County Historian’s Office began its journey to correct the noticeable absence of Black history materials in their collection. Their African American History in Putnam County Collection currently features many individual stories, with supporting research, as well as files on slavery and manumission, census research, dependent or indigent persons, crime, Putnam’s vote on Equal Franchise (1846 & 1860), Ku Klux Klan in Putnam County, Racism, migrant labor, Philipse Family and slavery, Black Lives Matter 2020 -, and military service. Read more about their research in the Putnam County Press/Times and New York Archives magazine.
About the award:
This award recognizes an outstanding member library, cultural heritage organization, program, service, or staff member.
Eligibility:
This award is for Governing and HRVH members of Southeastern, including individuals at any staffing level, organizations, or programs created by member organizations.
The award:
The recipient(s) will receive a commemorative award, and the recipient’s name will be engraved on a permanent award displayed at Southeastern headquarters. The award is presented at the annual meeting.
Nomination form:
Submit the nomination via email. Nominations should include:
- A completed nomination form
- a 2-5 page description of the project, library, or individual achievement
- letters of support
- A portfolio if applicable
Criteria:
Individuals, organizations or programs must achieve excellence in one or more of the following:
- Leadership in creating a new or enhanced service model that other libraries or cultural organizations can emulate.
- Improvements in physical facilities result in better services.
- Creation of an innovative program or collection that enhances the lives of the organization’s constituents.
- The development of a program that touches the lives of individuals who are otherwise underserved by their communities.
- Provision of a service to the community that is not available from any other library, archive, cultural heritage organization or library system, or that is outside the organization’s primary mission or the individual’s job description and benefited the community in which the organization resides.
The Nomination Process:
A candidate, organization, or program may be nominated by a co-worker, an individual from the library profession who resides in the region, or by a member of the community served by the organization. Self-nominations are accepted.
- Nomination forms are available online.
- Self-nominations are accepted and encouraged.
- Nominations are accepted from non-members as long as the nominee is either a Governing or HRVH member of Southeastern.
- Nominations will be reviewed by the Southeastern Award Recognition Committee, consisting of the Southeastern Executive Director, two members from the Board of Trustees representing different library types, and one Southeastern staff member.
- The award will be presented at the Council’s Annual Meeting in June.
Reminder: nominee must be either a Governing or HRVH member of Southeastern. (confirm membership at senylrc.org/member_directory)
The Timeframe:
- Nominations will be accepted until April 22, 2023
- The Southeastern Award Recognition Committee will announce the award at the annual meeting.
Previous Award Recipients:
2021 Award Recipient
Ramapo Catskill Library System, Coalition for Library Workers of Color
2020 Award Recipient
Valerie Mittenberg, SUNY New Paltz
2019 Award Recipient
Cross County Reading Challenge, Sullivan BOCES School Library System
2018 Award Recipient
adLIB, Vassar College Libraries
2017 Award Recipient
Amy Hillick, SUNY Orange
2016 Award Recipient
Judy Capurso, SUNY Ulster
2015 Award Recipient
Rhonda L. Altonen, MLS, MS
2014 Award Recipients:
FRANKLIN – Access to the FDR Library’s Digital Collections
Honorable Mention: Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection at Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz, NY