By: Susan Yutzey

Welcome to Week 4 of Award Season. 

This week we celebrate the Grammys - sort of.

As a school librarian, have you ever “Googled” movies that feature libraries or librarians?  Google returned over 13 million hits in .73 seconds. Dozens of movies such as The Music Man, ThePagemaster, The Breakfast Club, Beauty and the Beast, Clue, Party Girl, Storm Center to mention just a few appeared on my list. Some interesting articles such as “The Ten Best Librarians on Screen,” “5 Movies Featuring Reel Black Librarians in Major Roles,” appeared too. Many of these movies have soundtracks.  And so in honor of the Grammys I compiled a playlist entitled Librarian Mashup in Spotify to celebrate School Library Month and our fourth week of OELMA Award Season.

This week we feature two awards:

OELMA Leadership-in-Action Award

The OELMA Leadership-in-Action Award recognizes an Ohio school library media specialist who pursues active leadership roles in their school district, in OELMA, and/or in national professional organizations (e.g. AASL, ALA). This Award honors OELMA members who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to leadership in the school library profession..  Multiple recipients may receive this award.

OELMA/Follett School Solutions Outstanding School Librarian Award

The OELMA/Follett School Solutions Outstanding School Librarian Award recognizes a licensed Ohio school library media specialist who has developed an exemplary school library program.  The school library media specialist must incorporate through their daily practice Ohio’s Library Guidelines for Librarians (2021) strands: equity, literacies, partnerships, and quality schools. The recipient also receives a $150 stipend from Follett School Solutions.

In 2021, OELMA celebrated Kelly Silwani as the OELMA/Follett School Solutions Ooutstanding School Librarian and Rob Kaminski and Janie Kantner as the Leadership-in-Action Award recipients. The graphics this week feature the three award recipients and focus on what  receiving the awards meant to them: Acknowledgement, Dedication, Leaders, Mentors, Humbling, Keep Fighting the Good Fight, Hard Work, Credential, Empowering, Energizing, and Confidence. You may nominate yourself or a colleague.  The deadline to nominate is April 25.  Visit oelma.org/Awards for more details or contact oelma.awards@gmail.com with questions.