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The Toledo-Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library's (T-LCPL) Government Procurement Center, a service that helps small and midsized businesses pursue government contracts, has received the Urban Libraries Council's (ULC) annual Award of Excellence. The $500 award will be presented in June during the Urban Libraries Council's Program at the American Library Association's Annual Conference in Chicago, IL. The program will take place on Sunday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m., in Regency Ballrooms C and D at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
"The Government Procurement Center (GPC) focuses particular attention on state and federal contracting, acting as a force-multiplier for small businesses by giving clients access to information and expertise they could not afford to buy individually," said T-LCPL Director Clyde Scoles. "This support helps local businesses compete effectively in the complex, highly regulated federal marketplace, which brings federal dollars into the area."
The GPC has proven results. Since its beginning in 1983, service users have won more than 700 government contracts with an aggregate value in excess of $160,000,000. During the 1993 program year, clients received $147 in contract awards for every dollar spent by the GPC.
"The committee was very impressed with T-LCPL's response to a visibly urban problem," said Award of Excellence Committee Chair, Paulette H. Holahan. "The service highlights the value of the public library to the business community. The GPC is an outstanding example of one library identifying an urban need and responding in a manner both imaginative and realistic."
Applications for next year's Award of Excellence are now available from the ULC office, 1603 Orrington Avenue, Suite 1080, Evanston, IL 60201; 708-866-9999 (phone); 708-866-9989 (fax). The Award is designed to recognize a ULC member library for the creation or adaptation of a service that fills a need of an urban area, can be easily replicated, is not costly and has proven results.
Since 1972, the Urban Libraries Council has been a financial and legislative advocate for urban public libraries. In 1991, the ULC Executive Board expanded the organization's focus to include consulting and programming for member libraries. Membership is open to any public library serving a population of more than 50,000 in a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. |
