Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Library Award topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Garland Library wins TMLDA Achievement of Excellence for 20th consecutive year
Summary
Garland Public Library system was named an Achievement of Excellence recipient by the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association; staff described the application process and named contributors to the submission.
Garland Public Library has received the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association (TMLDA) Achievement of Excellence Award, marking what staff said is the 20th consecutive year the system has earned the recognition.
Library staff told the Garland Library Board that the award recognizes a library’s commitment to providing services to its community and that Garland was one of about 102 Texas public libraries to receive the award from roughly 542 systems in the state. An unnamed library presenter said staff compiled statistics, graphics and summaries from programs throughout the year and assembled them into the format required by the award.
The presenter credited a team of staff for preparing this year’s submission. Judith ("Judy"), identified in the meeting as a part-time librarian at the Garland branch, Julie Bird, a library assistant who works in outreach, and Jillian Vandergrift, a youth services librarian at South Garland branch, were named as the core team that prepared summaries and graphics. Crystal Garrett handled initial proofing and Daphne Farris completed the final submission after Crystal was out, the presenter said.
Board members asked about how the award is decided. Staff described the process as meeting a specified list of requirements rather than a head-to-head competition: the award asks libraries to demonstrate activity across roughly 10 program and service categories and meet a high threshold of documentation and presentation. Staff said the packet must be compiled and formatted to TMLDA’s rules and that rules can change year to year, which is why the library keeps materials throughout the year to expedite later assembly.
No formal actions were recorded in connection with the award at the meeting; the board received the update and congratulated staff.
The library presenter said staff plan to continue rotating a team each year to keep submissions fresh and to retain one experienced member for continuity. The board offered congratulations to the staff team.
