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Friday, March 23, 2018

Nominate the Great Library Workers in Your Life [or Yourself Because You Are Awesome]

With the PLA Conference happening all week [I followed along from afar on Twitter], I was reminded that so many people out there in libraryland are doing great things and sharing wonderful ideas, yet so few get the chance to speak at these national conferences. Heck, even my program proposal was shot down this time.

But every single state has at least one library conference a year, and each state also has a plethora of awards that it gives out to deserving library workers. But here is a giant secret that I know because I have been on the inside before.... those awards are not getting nearly enough nominations.

I know it takes a little work to nominate someone for an award, trust me I have done it, and the person didn't win, but it is worth it. Every nomination is looked at, considered, and can help get recognition even to those who don't win.  I know from being on the inside of the ILA Readers' Advisory Service Award, which ARRT sponsors, that while we can only give 1 award, we have gone back to nominees who have not won to provide programs for us. We have given them a place to showcase their work and we have asked them to join our Steering Committee. We have learned about the great RA Service happening all over our state and used our group to help spread the word.

It matters when you recognize a co-worker or colleague with a nomination. It lets others outside your local sphere, others who hold positions of power, know where great library work is happening. It alerts others to trends and new ideas. Those who see the nominations spread the word about everyone, not just the winners. Trust me.

Basically, it helps the entire library community when you nominate people. Seriously. 

But I want to advocate for self nominations in this post too. Look, for some reason library workers hate to promote themselves. This irks me. I am constantly standing up for everyone because they won't do it for themselves. As someone who has been part of nominations processes before I can tell you that self nominations are not only fine, they are often better. I have been nominated for awards by people I barely know and then the awards committee has to awkwardly contact me to complete the nomination process. If I had taken the time to nominate myself properly, I maybe could have won the award.  For awards I have won, nominators had to go behind my back and contact my husband to get the necessary info out of me. 

Also, as I travel the country working with libraries, big and small, I learn about so many wonderful things that are happening. I regularly invite these people to write a post for me on my blog and encourage them to propose their ideas tot heir state library conferences; I have even helped a few newer library workers write their conference proposals on my own time. I also encourage them to nominate themselves for awards. A few have, and even a few have won! Sometimes all they need is a pep talk from me, an outside expert, telling them what a great job they are doing, and that is enough of a push to encourage them to nominate themselves. 

So that is today's post, a pep talk to all you all from me. You are awesome. I know many of you are doing great work because you email me to share it. And I also know there are thousands of others who haven't contacted me but are also doing great work. I want all of you make a pledge for the next year, find someone to nominate for something. Start with your local state library associations. And start by looking at yourself.

For those in Illinois, our ILA Awards are open RIGHT NOW for nominations. You  have no excuse to drag your feet. I have started the ball rolling on at least one nomination for an award. I cannot nominate someone for the RA Service award, although if any of my readers in IL want to apply, you can contact me for advice. I am not on the subcommittee that chooses the award winner [on purpose since I know and have trained too many of you].

Here's some information from ILA Awards Committee member Kara Kohn:
Everything you need to know in order to nominate one of your heroes, idols, mentors, colleagues, or best friend is at your fingertips on the ILA website--think about who you'd like to see honored by one of these awards for outstanding librarians, library advocates, and many more categories.
Awards are due this year by May 15th. Nominating someone for an ILA Award is easy to do. Visit https://www.ila.org/about/awards to learn about all of the awards, then submit the nomination form and all supporting documentation via the ILA Web site. 
This is a formal way to recognize a colleague who is doing amazing things at your library or for the library community! 
Please let me know if you have any questions or how I can assist you in nominating your colleagues. 
This plea may be specifically for Illinois, you all have this in your states too. Get out there and nominate your peers. 

Nominate yourself or someone wonderful. No one knows the great work you do if you don’t promote yourself and your awesomeness!

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