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ANNUAL QPLA AWARDS

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The winners of the 2009 QPLA Annual awards were announced at the Conference Dinner on Monday, 12 October 2009.  Dave West, current QPLA President, outlined the merits of each winner's nomination in his speech at the dinner.

Tonight we celebrate those libraries who have delivered programs, projects and services beyond expectations.

 First up tonight is the Public Library Achievement Award, which was established in 2007 to recognize the Queensland public library that most demonstrates outstanding community service through an individual program or service. The award focuses on two key factors:

• The benefits of the service or program to the community
• The creativity and innovation in developing a specific community program or service, or implementation of a special project

 Tonight’s winner delivered a project with a humble beginning but with a big outcome. The Library Relay Project  provided the local community a glimpse of the diverse nature of what the library could offer, what a high quality library they have access to and the consistency of service across a local government region which spans over 60,000km². 

The winner of the QPLA Public Library Achievement Award for 2009 is: 

Isaac Regional Council Library Service

Read Isaac's submission

• The enhancement and expansion of library service to all areas and constituencies in the community.
• The strengthening of the library role and position in the community.
• The encouragement of reading and the creation of inducements to greater use of books and other library materials and information sources.
• Free access to information for all.

 The winner of this award is a local government which, in partnership with the library, is committed to delivering exceptionally high quality services literally from the ground up. With the construction of a new 10 million dollar facility the local community will have access of a very contemporary multi-purpose building featuring a state of the art library and community centre. This new facility is at the heart of the community, being highly visible and housing some of the region’s most prized collections. The library has worked consistently with its community in the delivery of high quality literacy services, especially to young people. 

The winner of the QPLA Local Authority of the Year for 2009 goes to :

Rockhampton Regional Council
 

Read Rockhampton's submission

• Service to the community
• Creativity and innovation in developing specific community programs or a dramatic increase in library usage.
• Leadership in creating programs that can be emulated by other libraries.

 The winner of this award has clearly demonstrated their ability to serve the community with diverse range of programs and services that meet the divergent needs of the community they serve, programs such as: 

• The Green Steps program designed to encourage a more sustainable approach to living in the region,
• Public programs designed to assist in living in the current tight economic climate, and
• Deep commitment to the roll out of leading edge IT solutions.

 The winner of this award has developed and delivered a wide range of internal improvements to enable greater usage of their services, such as active direct promotion to specific users groups, which in turn has delivered growth in these target areas. 

The Winner of the QPLA Public Library of the Year Award for 2009 is:

 Sunshine Coast Libraries

Read Sunshine Coast's submission

Previous recent winners include: