By Chase Ollis, MSLIS, Communications Manager, American Library Association

On December 19, 2023 the American Library Association (ALA) announced 10 recipients of the coveted I Love My Librarian Award. Honorees are exceptional librarians from academic, public, and school libraries who were nominated by patrons nationwide for their expertise, dedication, and profound impact on the people in their communities.

“While much of the national conversation surrounding libraries has fixated on book censorship, and as library workers across the U.S. continue to face historic levels of intimidation and harassment, librarians’ efforts to empower their patrons and provide vital services for their communities shines a spotlight on the enduring value of libraries in our society,” said American Library Association President Emily Drabinski. “The inspiring stories of this year’s I Love My Librarian Award honorees demonstrate the positive impact librarians have on the lives of those they serve each day."

ALA received nearly 1,400 nominations from library users for this year’s award, which demonstrates the breadth of impact of librarians across the country. Nominations focused on librarians’ outstanding service, including expanding access to literacy and library services, outreach within their communities, supporting mental health needs, and more. This year’s award recipients include three academic librarians, four public librarians and three school librarians.

Honorees will each receive a $5,000 cash prize as well as complimentary registration and a $750 travel stipend to attend ALA’s LibLearnX event in Baltimore. The award ceremony will take place during the LibLearnX welcome reception beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, and will stream live on YouTube.

Meet Fred Gitner

At Queens Public Library (QPL) in the nation’s most ethnically and culturally diverse county, Fred Gitner has been driving positive social change for new Americans seeking support for nearly three decades.

As a long line of asylum seekers waits outside the library’s doors each morning to apply for identification cards, Gitner’s team works through the New Americans Program to connect them to education opportunities and resources they need to successfully acclimate to life in New York and the United States more broadly. From “New Americans Corners” inside QPL branches filled with materials and a vast array of online resources to live phone interpretation service in more than 240 languages at every branch, Gitner has been central in improving services for a community where half of residents were born outside the US.

Gitner’s mentoring of current and aspiring librarians is a key focus of his efforts to increase the influence of the library. One QPL mentee noted that Gitner’s guidance fostered her career growth and vision for extending the library’s workshops and cultural activities in Bengali, which in turn helped expand services to the county’s expanding Bangladeshi community. Gitner also coordinates QPL’s international partnerships program which, along with facilitating the exchange of knowledge and library materials in other languages, offers opportunities for LIS students from abroad to participate in fieldwork assignments with QPL.

“Fred is always on the go and never misses a day to involve our library in helping new immigrants in our neighborhoods,” one nominator wrote. “It is truly amazing how one man can make a beautiful difference in the lives of new immigrants, their families, and his fellow library professionals.”

The I Love My Librarian Award is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with additional support from the New York Public Library, and is administered by the American Library Association. Since 2008, library users have shared more than 24,000 nominations detailing how librarians have gone above and beyond to promote literacy, expand access to technology, and support diversity and inclusion in their communities.

Image and text: Used with permission from the American Library Association

Photo: Courtesy of Fred Gitner

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