This article features Naturita Community Library (NCL), winner of "LJ"'s 2011 Best Small Library in America Award, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The library is the largest straw bale library in America. It sits on the western slope of the Rockies, across the Uncompahgre Plateau from the county seat in Montrose,…

This article profiles Steven L. MacCall, winner of "Library Journal's" 2010 Teaching Award. An associate professor at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, MacCall was nominated by Kathie Popadin, known as "Kpop" to the members of her cohort in the online MLIS program at SLIS. Sixteen of…

"Library Journal"'s new national rating of public libraries, the "LJ" Index of Public Library Service, identifies 256 "star" libraries. It rates 7,115 public libraries. The top libraries in each group get five, four, or three Michelin guide-like stars. All included libraries, stars or not, can use their scores to learn from their peers and improve…

In commemoration of the Librarian of the Year Award's 20th anniversary, this article presents brief vignettes on all 19 of the title holders. When "Library Journal" named them Librarians of the Year, these inimitable 19 (for the 20th, Norma Blake, see EJ788676) had singled themselves out as risk takers, visionaries, bulldogs, pragmatists,…

This article profiles Rick J. Block, the recipient of the 2008 "LJ Teaching Award." Despite his "day job" and a heavy schedule of classroom teaching, Block finds time and intense energy to be the mentor, internship supervisor, and individual advisor to the students who fill every available seat in his classes at two LIS…

This article profiles Rebecca Knuth, winner of the LJ Teaching Award for 2009. The way she plans a class she's teaching illustrates why she was nominated by her students and won the award. The award, which comes with a $5000 honorarium and a celebration at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting, is sponsored by ProQuest. For…

Public library service is a critical service that must be preserved. Despite a current (FY08) budget cut of $5 million and the threat of reductions of nearly $20 million more in the next budget, the Queens Library has maintained massive and excellent programs of service and incredibly high levels of use by a public that lines up at every one of…

Worthington, Ohio, has deep library roots. A library has been part of its history since the planning by settlers before the city's birth in 1803. Among the treasures brought by James Kilbourne and the Scioto Company from Connecticut to the new, planned community they built was a collection of books for their new subscription library. The books…

Summarizes events at the 1988 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, which addressed such issues as professional recruiting, national politics, leadership, copyright problems, support for the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, accreditation, and intellectual freedom. A listing of ALA officers and awards is…

Summarizes events at the 1988 Medical Library Association (MLA) annual meeting, which addressed such issues as the growing complexities of the health care field, credentialing, and technological change. A list of MLA officers and awards is included. (MES)

Summarizes events at the 1988 Special Libraries Association (SLA) annual conference which addressed such issues as the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Library Awareness Program, SLA professional development projects, creativity, and child care at conferences and the workplace. A listing of SLA officers and awards is included. (MES)

Summarizes events at the 1988 Canadian Library Association (CLA) annual conference, which addressed such issues as access to information, CLA finances, and the information marketplace. A list of CLA officers and awards is included. (MES)

Describes the characteristics and job responsibilities of Susan Knoche, a medical library assistant at James H. Quillen College of Medicine Library, East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Johnson City, TN who was voted paraprofessional of the year 2003 by Library Journal judges. Highlights include the variety of responsibilities she has held in…

Report on the 1992 Canadian Library Association (CLA) conference discusses plans for a national summit on information policy, the current situation of public libraries, updating of policy statements, and strengthening CLA. CLA officers and awards are listed. (MES)

Four articles provide overviews of as many library association conferences, i.e., the American Library Association (ALA), Canadian Library Association (CLA), Medical Library Association (MLA), and Special Library Association (SLA). Highlights include budget concerns; honors and awards; social, national, and international issues; and changes in the…