Antioch New England’s Jean Amaral One of Top Ten Librarians Nationwide
Posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008
(Keene, NH) – A full page ad in the New York Times congratulated Antioch University New England‘s librarian Jean Amaral and nine others on December 8 as recipients of the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian award.
Judges chose Jean, a reference librarian at Antioch University New England in Keene, New Hampshire, and her fellow award winners from 3,200 nominations from across the nation. Antioch New England’s Jean and Iona R. Malanchuk from the University of Florida were the only two university librarians chosen for the award.
“Jean’s efforts on behalf of the students and faculty here at Antioch New England are exceptional. Her enjoyable and energy-packed lectures, training sessions and consultations on the latest research techniques have been invaluable in their support of teaching and learning, ” said ANE President David Caruso. “We are thrilled that she has received this honor.”
In his nomination letter, faculty member Steve Chase said Jean “is a dynamo of energy, talent, humor, consideration, and has the most intense dedication to aiding students and faculty that I have ever seen.” Read the entire nomination letter complete with student, faculty comments here.
Each of the ten award winners receives a $5,000 cash award. Jean is donating her cash prize to ANE student scholarships.
Jean traveled to New York City to participate in a ceremony and reception at the Times Center, hosted by The New York Times on December 9. Other award recipients include: Linda Allen of Hudson, Florida; Amy J. Cheney of San Leandro, California; Jennifer Lankford Dempsey of Auburn, Alabama; Carol W. Levers of Kansas City, Missouri; Dr. Margaret “Gigi” Lincoln of Battle Creek, Michigan; Iona R. Malanchuk of Gainesville, Florida; Elaine McIlroy of Wellfleet, Massachusetts; Paul McIntosh of New York, New York; and Arezoo Moseni of New York, New York.
The I Love My Librarian prize recognizes the recipients for service to their communities, schools, and campuses. “This award honors the significant relationship between library users and librarians. It also recognizes these ten librarians for the notable impact they have on the lives of the people they serve and on their communities,” said American Library Association (ALA) President Jim Rettig. Read the American Library Association/New York Times News Release here.
About Jean Amaral
Jean joined Antioch University New England as a reference librarian in August of 2006.
She received her master’s degree in library and information science from San Jose State University, her master’s in English and American literature from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, and her bachelor’s degree in economics and English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Prior to working at ANE, she lived in the San Francisco Bay area working as a public librarian for the Santa Clara County Library system Currently, she lives in Marlborough, New Hampshire.
About Antioch University New England
Antioch University New England, based in Keene, New Hampshire, offers rigorous, practice-oriented, values-based master’s, doctoral and certificate programs to more than one thousand students. Programs in education, leadership and management, environmental studies, and psychology reflect a dedication to community service, sustainability, activism, and social justice.
For more information about Antioch University New England call 800.553.8920 or visit our web site: www.antiochne.edu.
About the award
According to the ALA, nominations were open to librarians working in public, school, college, community college and university libraries. In order to be eligible, the nominee had to have received a master’s degree from a program accredited by the ALA in library and information studies or a master’s degree with a specialty in school library media from an educational institution accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.
The selection committee was comprised of Dr. Loriene Roy, professor at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Information; Dr. Rookaya Bawa, program officer at Carnegie Corporation of New York; Annalisa R. Crews, library media specialist at Homewood High School, Homewood, Alabama; Karen Danczak Lyons, first deputy commissioner of Chicago Public Library; Diane McNulty, executive director of Community Affairs and Media Relations at The New York Times; and Dr. Laverna M. Saunders, university librarian at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The ALA administered the award through the Campaign for America’s Libraries, its public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians.
The award, which began as The New York Times Librarian Awards in 2000, is now a collaborative program of Carnegie Corporation of New York, The New York Times and the American Library Association. More information about the award recipients is available at www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.
About the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” For more than 95 years, the corporation has carried out Carnegie’s vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. As a private grant-making foundation, the corporation will invest more than $100 million this year in nonprofits to fulfill Carnegie’s mission, “to do real and permanent good in this world.” The corporation’s capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $3 billion on Sept. 30, 2007.
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
About the American Library Association
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 67,000 members. Its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.
