All Awards

Trailblazers Wall

Awarded by the National Association of Counties

The Trailblazers Wall at the Fairfield Area Library in Henrico, Virginia is an inclusive, dynamic digital history wall that showcases biographies of individuals whose lives and work had major impacts on the county, the state, and the nation. Inspired by the Supervisor of the Fairfield District, content for the wall was selected by a committee of community members knowledgeable about local history, with the goal of inspiring paths in life for young people of the Fairfield District. The resulting wall highlights many people of color and women whose historical narratives have been submerged, and demonstrates how community engagement can lead to more inclusive and valuable services in public libraries. Public response and usage patterns show that the inclusive historical display has deeply resonated with the community, and that local history has a natural home in public libraries.

LGBTQIA+ Book Discussion

Awarded by the National Association of Counties

Henrico County Public Library created the LGBTQIA+ Book Discussion Group to improve service to the LGBTQIA community. Through a combination of outreach, thoughtful planning, intentional materials selection, and flexible program design, the book discussion has established a healthy following. The book discussion group improves community engagement with the library through conversations about books with LGBTQIA authors, themes, and characters. The group’s success indicates that the library is establishing itself as a welcoming community space for members of the LGBTQIA community.

Multilingual Storytimes

Awarded by the National Association of Counties

Librarians at Henrico County Public Library (HCPL) leveraged personal experience, professional expertise, and a commitment to inclusive services to create storytimes for English Language Learners that meet community needs and can be conducted by staff with or without special language skills. Using rhymes and songs from his childhood, and building upon his existing knowledge through research of Pura Belpré and José-Luis Orozco, one HCPL librarian began hosting a Spanish-English bilingual storytime, Cuentos Bilingües, in 2017. Inspired by the success of Cuentos Bilingües, a librarian at HCPL’s Tuckahoe Library created a multilingual storytime, Hello!, for English Language Learning families who speak a variety of languages, though she herself is only fluent in English. Languages represented in Henrico County Public Library storytimes now reflect the diversity of the County’s residents, and multilingual storytimes have proven popular, with strong attendance and positive feedback.

LGBTQIA+ Book Discussion

Awarded by the Virginia Association of Counties

Henrico County Public Library created the LGBTQIA+ Book Discussion Group to improve service to the LGBTQIA community. Through a combination of outreach, thoughtful planning, intentional materials selection, and flexible program design, the book discussion has established a healthy following. The book discussion group improves community engagement with the library through conversations about books with LGBTQIA authors, themes, and characters. The group’s success indicates that the library is establishing itself as a welcoming community space for members of the LGBTQIA community.

Trailblazers Wall

Awarded by the Virginia Association of Counties

The Trailblazers Wall at the Fairfield Area Library in Henrico, Virginia is an inclusive, dynamic digital history wall that showcases biographies of individuals whose lives and work had major impacts on the county, the state, and the nation. Inspired by the Supervisor of the Fairfield District, content for the wall was selected by a committee of community members knowledgeable about local history, with the goal of inspiring paths in life for young people of the Fairfield District. The resulting wall highlights many people of color and women whose historical narratives have been submerged, and demonstrates how community engagement can lead to more inclusive and valuable services in public libraries. Public response and usage patterns show that the inclusive historical display has deeply resonated with the community, and that local history has a natural home in public libraries.