2020 WLA AWARDS OPEN FOR NOMINATIONS

The Wyoming Library Association’s Awards/Grants Committee is accepting nominations for Outstanding Hero/Heroine, Outstanding Librarian, and Outstanding Library. If you know a person or a group deserving recognition for what they have done in and for a Wyoming library, this is the time to nominate them for those achievements. Award nominations are due by May 31, 2020.

Nora Van Burgh Development Grants are also available for continuing education. Applications are due by June 15, 2020.

An awards reception will be held at the WLA 2020 Conference, as well as visits to acknowledge and celebrate at the home libraries of the recipients.

And don’t forget the Mountain Plains Library Association Debbie Iverson MPLA Scholarship. If you applied to the MPLA leadership institute by December 15 and are accepted, please contact this committee for scholarship funds to cover most, if not all, of the fee for the institute.

If you have any questions about the awards, grants, or scholarships available through WLA, contact committee chair Anna Street.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY UPDATE

After 30 excellent years of service, Laura Grott has resigned her position as Wyoming Library Association's Executive Secretary. We greatly appreciate her many years of help and dedication to our association. We would like to wish her well in her future endeavors.

Beginning January 2, 2020, the Wyoming Library Association will enter into a one-year management contract with Amigos Library Services, a not-for-profit membership-based organization dedicated to serving libraries. Amigos brings to our association a wealth of experience managing library-related organizations. They provide support to the Missouri Library Association, the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, and many other associations. During this transition, we will no longer be using the association’s P. O. Box or phone number.

More information on this transition and how WLA will handle membership renewals, interest group meeting planning, the 2020 conference, etc. will be provided in the coming months.

If you have any questions, please contact Abby Beaver at wylibraryassociation@gmail.com.

VOTING NOW OPEN FOR 2020 WYOMING BOOK AWARDS

The book award committees have made a few changes this year in hopes of getting more participation. The changes involve extending the dates for both voting and nominations.

• Voting for the 2020 Wyoming Book Awards opens October 1, 2019 and closes April 1, 2020.
• Nominations for the 2021 Wyoming Book Awards open October 1, 2019 and close March 1, 2020. 

Also, thank you for helping to spread the word about the Wyoming Book Awards. Encourage your friends and colleagues to participate in the program. The Wyoming Book Awards are sponsored by the Wyoming Library Association and the Wyoming State Literacy Association, so there should be all sorts of sharing happening.

Enjoy these great reads! If you have questions, concerns, or comments about the Wyoming Book Awards, please contact any of the book award co-chairs.