April, 2006 (EVANSTON, ILLINOIS) – Lynn Lockwood, assistant director of Baltimore County Public Library, will receive the Urban Libraries Council/SirsiDynix Urban Player Award for 2006. Lockwood is being honored for her leadership in forging a coalition of several community agencies to support emergent literacy in Baltimore County. Lockwood will accept the award, which carries a $1,000 cash prize, at the ULC’s annual membership meeting in June in New Orleans.
Lockwood was the catalyst for the creation of an Early Childhood Action Committee to address early literacy and other issues of importance to young children in Baltimore County. The Committee developed an action plan – “Focus on the First Years” – that initiated county-wide improvements in child well-being, especially those relating to school success. While her work was county-wide, she ensured the library did its part by creating a suite of programs targeted to the library’s youngest users. Its new emergent literacy program helps parents and caregivers understand and stimulate literacy development in their babies and toddlers. The program has been so successful that the library created a new position -- Early Childhood Coordinator – to manage and coordinate the efforts. It now travels the county to provide materials and programs, assuring that even non-traditional library users benefit from the program.
“Lynn’s work shows how today’s public library can leverage its resources to address critical issues and make urban areas more vibrant and more livable,” said Martín Gómez, president of the ULC. “Lynn showed that the role of public librarian is no longer behind a desk; it’s out in the community, making a difference.”
The Urban Player Award recognizes individuals who have provided exceptional leadership in both the library and its community. It’s one of a number of ULC programs that focus attention on the library’s role in enriching the urban communities they serve. It was established in memory of Betty Jane Narver, former chair of the ULC’s Executive Board.
For more than 30 years the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) has worked to strengthen public libraries as an essential part of urban life. A membership organization of North America’s premier public library systems and the corporations that serve them, the ULC serves as a forum for sharing best practices resulting from targeted research, education and forecasting. The ULC’s programs are acclaimed for inspiring new organizational models that invigorate urban libraries and enrich the areas surrounding them. The ULC is headquartered in Evanston, Illinois. For more information, visit the group on the Web at www.urbanlibraries.com.
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