Dear Friends, I am pleased to share with you this information from Israel which confers an honor on one of us librarians. Shalom, Bracha Weisbarh
The Outstanding Librarian Prize Awarded to the Ra'anana's Director of the Library Services. By Bracha Weisbarth, special correspondent. On Wednesday, February 21, at a ceremony attended by many dignitaries, authors and librarians at the 23rd Jerusalem International Book Fair, (February 18 -23, 2007), the Rachel Cohen Prize for the Outstanding Librarian of the year 2007, was awarded to Miriam (Muki) Prince, Director of Library Services of the city of Ra'anana. This prestigious prize honors the memory of Rachel Cohen the legendary librarian who was active for many years in promoting reading among the residents of Jerusalem. Muki Prince is the grand daughter and daughter of the original members of "The Ahuza A - New York" group who founded Ra'anana in 1912. From them she absorbed her deep love and commitment to the city. She told me, with pride, that her father planted some of the shady Ficus trees along Ahuza Street trees that are now over sixty years old. Prince served for the past 30 years as the Director of the main branch of the municipal library. The library is housed in the "Yad L'Banim" building, on Ahuza Street, the main street of the Ra'anana. In recognition of the excellent work she is doing, she was recommended for the prize by officials of the Ra'anana municipality. In the official announcement of the Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport awarding the prize to Prince, she is cited as a role model to other librarians for her deep commitment to encourage book reading among young and old alike. The citation enumerates some of her activities for which they found her deserving of this honor. She initiated many imaginative programs at the library for young readers, including guidance programs for parents on how to encourage their children to read books. She is very attentive to the needs of the members of the community and established programs to encourage reading among the socially deprived population by making books available free of paying the library membership fee. She attends to the needs of the many new Olim in the city by offering books in foreign languages. She makes a great effort in offering classic literary works as well as current best sellers. She introduces Israel's best known authors to the readers at highly attended meetings. Library programs for adults offer lectures on literature; a literary club and programs in Yiddish. A course on the empowerment of women is part of the fare offered by the library. She is also active in encouraging local writers. On a national level she brings the message of book reading to new settlements in the developing townships. During the Lebanon 2 war she brought her message to the resident of the Galilee. Her professional activities extend beyond the boundaries of Ra'anana. She is committed to enhancing the professional standing and education of Israeli librarians. She served as chairperson of the Association of Library Directors and worked diligently to achieve better professional standing for librarians. While talking about her profession Prince says "Our duty as keepers of the literary treasures is to recognize the best literary works, to enjoy them, proclaim their worth by any means possible and to disseminate them among our public. It is our duty as librarians to educate the new generation of readers to read books and to enjoy books. The thought that they might miss the humor of Shalom Aleichm, the poetry of Rachel, Chaim Nachman Bialik and Leah Goldberg or the richly expressive language of David Grossman, Meir Shalev, Amos Oz and A.B.Yehoshua is hard to bear. Neither can we ignore the intellectual riches of the world's great authors." These words embody her philosophy and guide her deeds as the outstanding librarian of the year. Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
