ULA Awards
Join us Thursday, May 1 at 7 pm at the Salt Lake Hilton for the awards banquet honoring these very deserving colleagues. Sign up for the banquet is included in the ULA Conference registration online.
Several categories had multiple nominations, which made choosing just one person very difficult. Thank you to all who nominated these worthy individuals. Personally, I think all ULA members are winners!
My sincere thanks to Anita Albright of Salt Lake Community College for her expertise in helping with the awards committee again this year.
ULA Distinguished Service Award
Librarian of the Year Award
Special Services to Libraries Award
ULA Special Recognition Award
Legislative Award for Excellence in Political Affairs and Library Advocacy
ULA Distinguished Service Award
Diana Graff (Southern Utah University)
Starting as a Serials Librarian at Southern Utah University in 1972, Dianna Graff capped her career by again chairing the Utah Academic Library Consortium and guiding and presenting our legislative proposal before the legislature. Dianna built a new library at SUU, implemented mandatory information literacy requirements, served as Assistant Provost, remodeled and implemented an information commons, and has led the way be being the first UALC migration to Sirsi Unicorn. She has been active at the national state levels and a strong voice in the Utah Academic Library Consortium. Dianna retires this year after devoting over thirty years of outstanding library service to Southern Utah University.
Librarian of the Year Award
Susan Spicer (Salt Lake County Library Services)
Susan Spicer received her bachelor's degree in Sociology/Anthropology from the University of Utah and a Master of Library Science from Emporia State University. She is currently a Teen/Tween Services Librarian at the Salt Lake County Library System's Kearns Branch. Susan says, “After six years, I still can't believe I get paid for hanging out with teens and buying good books for kids. My highest aspiration is to find a bag just like Mary Poppins’ so I have room for all my stuff.”
In addition to her enthusiastic service on boards and committees of National, Regional, State and Local library organizations, Susan’s personal commitment to the education and welfare of the teens she has served in the West Jordan and Kearns communities of Salt Lake County serves as an example to all public librarians of what the term “to make a difference” means.
Susan has provided useful “best practices” input to the Granite School District, Salt Lake County Youth Services and Parks and Recreation and the Kearns Community County regarding alarming teen disruptions in the Kearns library. Her efforts have helped provide a much improved environment at the library and she has provided a strong liason between these community agencies and Salt Lake County Library Services. Those efforts lead to a community initiative that resulted in the creation of the Kearns After School Program, which now serves as a County model.
Special Service to Libraries Award
Pete Giacoma (Davis County Library)
Pete Giacoma served as Director of the Davis County Library from 1991 until his retirement in March 2008. He worked for the Davis County Library beginning in 1981, having previously worked in various positions are the Salt Lake City Public Library. Pete received his MLS from SUNY Buffalo, and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Utah. Pete is the author of the book The Fee or Free Decision: Legal, Economic, Political, and Ethical Perspectives for Public Libraries (Neal-Schuman, 1989) and has published articles and book reviews in Top of the News, The Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom and Public Libraries. Pete is a recipient of the American Library Association David H. Clift Scholarship (1979) and the Utah Library Association Distinguished Service Award (1992). He served as President of the Utah Library Association in 1994-1995. In addition, he has chaired several ULA committees and roundtables, including the Legislative Committee from 1984-1987, during which time the first public library development grants to public libraries were initiated and the current Library Theft and Mutilation law was passed.
As Director of the Davis County Library, Pete oversaw the building of two new branches and the remodel and expansion of three branches. He managed the integration of the Kaysville City Library into the County system in 2006 following a decision by the Kaysville City Council to end its operations as a city library. During his tenure as Director, library circulation increased from approximately 1 million to 2.5 million, the Library fully entered the age of electronic resources and services, and the Library initiated a program of author visits that has received national recognition, bringing to Davis County such author and personalities as Garrison Keillor, Andrea Mitchell, Jim Lehrer, Larry King, Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore and Dave Pelzer.
Pete teaches administration courses for the Utah State Library’s Uplift program as well as workshops on “Planning for Financial Sustainability” and “Resolving Interpersonal Conflict.” He has participated in numerous Utah Library Association conferences as a presenter and panel member, and is a former member and chair of the Utah State Library’s LSTA (previously LSCA) Advisory Council. In August 2007, Pete was invited to serve on a special advisory council jointly sponsored by the International City/County Manager’s Association (ICMA) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore ways in which local government managers can better work with library administrators and boards to support the development of public libraries in the 21 st Century.
ULA Special Recognition Award
J C Stimson (Kanab City Library)
J. C., as a Friend of the Library, has donated time, money and organizational skills to the Kanab City Library over the past seven years. He started and stocked most of their American Liberties section. He has donated numerous volumes to the Southwest Collection. He took trips around the area and made DVD’s, complete with music, of his travels and donated a copy of each to the library. They are a very popular item. He has donated funding for collection development. Dicki Robinson, Kanab Library Director, states: “He took it upon himself to learn how to catalog from scratch and proceeded to process our previously hopeless Special Collections room. Finally, we know what we have and where to find it.” Between trips to a from Kanab to Las Vegas, J C stops by to keep the magazines current and the back issues in order. He also donates his “handyman” services to keeping the Kanab City Library in good shape.
Legislative Award for Excellence in Political Affairs and Library Advocacy
Representative Tim Cosgrove
Representative Tim Cosgrove believes in school libraries. He likes to quote his elementary school librarian, Mrs. Pomeroy, who obviously made a lasting impression on a young child. As an adult, Rep. Cosgrove uses his legislative expertise to benefit school library media programs. With his characteristic enthusiasm for libraries and library resources, he has worked hard for over three intensive years to help improve school library services in the state. This commitment is exemplified by his facilitating and participating in numerous meetings with legislators, legislative staff, Governor’s staff, superintendents and many others to development the critical political support necessary for school library media programs.
In 2006 and 2007, Rep. Cosgrove convinced the Utah Legislature that students would benefit greatly from increased access to a greater variety of resources, and the legislators appropriated “one-time only” funds for school library books in 2006 and “ongoing” funds for library resources, both print and electronic, in 2007. He is now actively seeking funding to begin a phase-in grant program to hire fifty professionally trained teacher librarians in schools where there are none.
Rep. Cosgrove’s influence will be felt for many years as students benefit from his efforts. Through his legislative expertise, enthusiasm, and commitment, Tim Cosgrove continues to make a real difference in Utah’s school library media programs.
Questions? Please contact:
Ruby Cheesman
ULA Awards Chair 2007-08
Hunter Library
4740 W. 4100 South
West Valley City, UT 84120
801.944.7597 or 801.944.7550