The New York Times Announces Winners of the 2004 Librarian Awards; 27 Librarians From Around the...

NEW YORK -- The New York Times announced today the names of the 27 winners of the 2004 New York Times Librarian Awards. Now in its fourth year, the program honors librarians from around the country who have provided outstanding public service. This year's winners represent 14 states, including Arizona,

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Nominations from the general public were accepted from June through September and totaled nearly 1,500, with nominations coming from 47 states.

In recognition of the program's origins in New York City and the local history of the awards, 15 awards will go to librarians from New York City, New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut. The remaining 12 will go to exemplary librarians from six regions around the nation: the Northeast, the South, the Midwest and Great Lakes, the Mountain and Plains States, the Southwest and the West.

The Times will hold a reception in honor of the winners on December 15 at which each winner will be given $2,500 from The Times and a commemorative plaque. A separate plaque featuring the winner's name and title will be sent to the library where each winner works.

"We are very happy to have the opportunity to celebrate public librarians from across the country, whose enormous contributions sometimes go unrecognized," said Alyse Myers, vice president, marketing services, The New York Times. "This program demonstrates, year after year, how crucial libraries and librarians are to people in every part of the nation. From big cities to small towns, people look to their local libraries for information, education, entertainment, culture and community, and the librarians are there to help them find it all. The Times is proud to honor the work of these librarians who bring people together over books around the common belief that access to information is part of the bedrock of our society."

The 2004 winners of the Librarian Awards are:

New York City

--Agnes Beck-Statile, senior young adult librarian, Andrew Heiskell Braille & Talking Book Library, The New York Public Library, Manhattan

--Evelyn Gerges, branch librarian, City Island Branch of the New York Public Library, Bronx

--Alla Makeeva-Roylance, assistant division manager of Multilingual Center, Brooklyn Public Library

--Jane McGann, branch library manager, Howard Beach Library, Queens Borough Public Library

--Bridget Salvato, senior children's librarian, Richmondtown Branch Library of the New York Public Library

New York State

--Laura Eckley, children's librarian, Bronxville Public Library

--Dorothy Moore, head of reference, Adult Services, Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library, Oyster Bay

--Susan Schuler, children's librarian, New City Library

--Sue Seamans, library director, Falconer Public Library

New Jersey

--Leslie Burger, library director, Princeton Public Library

--Alice Betty Clifton, senior librarian, South County Regional Branch Library, Atco

--Mimi Hui, assistant director/reference librarian, The Free Public Library of Hasbrouck Heights

--Dipali Sen, principle librarian, Bayonne Free Public Library

Connecticut

--Barbara Cangiano, reference supervisor, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford

--Elzbieta Cyran, head of technical services, New Britain Public Library, Farmington

Northeast

--Rick Speer, library director, Lewiston Public Library, Lewiston, Me.

--Linda Wells, library director, Craftsbury Public Library, Craftsbury Common, Vt.

South

--Eileen Annie Ball, director, Franklin County Public Library, Eastpoint, Fla.

--Carolyn Caywood, branch manager, Virginia Beach Public Library, Va.

Midwest and Great Lakes

--Elma M. Natt, librarian II, Detroit Sub-Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Detroit Public Library, Mich.

--Greg Sauve, librarian II (reference), Rochester Public Library, Rochester, Minn.

Mountain and Plains States

--Virginia Carlson, children's services supervisor, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs, Colo.

--Jim Oliver, children's librarian, Siouxland Library, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Southwest

--Amy Gibson, children's services supervisor, Copper Mountain Branch Library, Killeen, Tx.

--Judy Hart, library director, Page Public Library, Ariz.

West

--Judith Gregg, branch librarian, Solana Beach County Library, Calif.

--Dennis Martin, reference librarian, Gardena Mayme Dear Library of the County of Los Angeles Public Library

A selection committee composed of leading library professionals from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey and New York chose the winners. Committee members included representatives from The Times as well as the following individuals:

--Mary Beth Beidl, assistant director, Nassau Library System

--Norma E. Blake, New Jersey State Librarian

--Michael Borges, executive director, New York Library Association

--Ginnie Cooper, executive director, Brooklyn Public Library

--Francine Fialkoff, editor, Library Journal

--Toni Garvey, city librarian, Phoenix Public Library

--Tula Giannini, associate professor, acting dean, Pratt Institute, School of Information & Library Sciences

--Christine Lind Hage, library director, Clinton-Macomb Public Library (Clinton Township, Mich.)

--Fontayne Holmes, assistant city librarian, Los Angeles Public Library

--Robert Hubsher, director, Ramapo Catskill Library System

--Susan Kent, director and chief executive of the branch libraries, The New York Public Library

--Tina Keresztury, New Jersey State Library

--Jerry Nichols, director, Suffolk Cooperative Library System

--Michele Reutty, Bergen County Cooperative Library System

--Amy Small, manager of external relations, Westchester Library System

--Jackie Thresher, director, Nassau Library System

--Pat Tumulty, executive director, New Jersey Library Association

--James H. Walther, director, training and development, The New York Public Library

--Janet Martin Welch, New York State Librarian and Assistant Commissioner for Libraries

--Kendall F. Wiggin, Connecticut State Librarian

For information about the Librarian Awards, please visit www.nytimes-community.com.

About The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT), a leading media company with 2003 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other newspapers, eight network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. For the fourth consecutive year, the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's 2004 list of America's Most Admired Companies. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com and www.nytimes-community.com