News
Russellville Public Library earns statewide honors
Posted on March 11, 2018
Originally published in the Franklin Free Press.
The Russellville Public Library has been selected to receive the 2018 Bronze Level Standard Award for Public Libraries from the Alabama Library Association (ALLA).
The award will be presented to librarian Ashley Cummins at ALLA’s President’s Awards Reception on Thursday, April 4.
The Alabama Library Association is a non-profit corporation formed to encourage and promote the welfare of libraries and professional interests of librarians in the State of Alabama. Alabama Standards Achievement Awards recognize superior planning and levels of excellence attained by exceptional public libraries in Alabama Gold Level Standard Award is the highest level of achievement, followed closely by Silver Level and Bronze Level.
Libraries are evaluated in a number of categories, including facility, hours of operation, administration and governance, planning, budget, staffing and employee benefits, collection, promotion and partnering, services and technology.
This is the Russellville Public Library’s first ALLA award, and something Cummins and her staff have been working toward for several years.
“It’s something we’ve looked into since 2014. We’ve had a lot of changes in our services and many were geared with this in mind,” Cummins said. “We wanted to meet those standards in order to better serve our community.”
In addition to Cummins, the Russellville Public Library staff includes Perla Martinez and Peggy Harrison, along with several volunteers.
“This is joyful news on behalf of the Russellville Public Library,” Cummins said.
According to Gloria Repolesk, Chairperson of ALLA’s Public Library Division, libraries that receive awards are serving as examples for other libraries across Alabama.
“These public libraries that achieve Award Level Standards serve as benchmarks of excellence for other libraries in the state. We extend our appreciation and congratulations to you and your library for a job well done,” Repolesk said.
Libraries are judged based on the population of the community they serve.
Russellville Mayor David Grissom said the award demonstrates the effectiveness of the local library in serving the Russellville community.
“We are proud of our library and its staff for receiving this distinguished award. The library is often one of the first places a visitor to Russellville calls on as a resource. It’s an important part of our community and we appreciate the job our library staff is doing,” Grissom said.