Palm Beach County Library System Receives 2022 FLA Awards and Scholarship

For more information: Douglas Crane, 561-233-2600

​The Palm Beach County Library System and staff were recognized with four 2022 Florida Library Association (FLA) Awards. Below is a highlight of the winners from the Florida Libraries, the official journal of the Florida Library Association.

Minority Scholarship Winner
Library Associate IV Joseph Dellosa currently works at the Clarence E. Anthony Branch of the Palm Beach County Library System. Joseph scored the highest of all applicants this year. The committee noted the strength of his application and was impressed by how professional it was. His passion for the Glades community shined through in both of his essays, and his desire and commitment to "do right" by this community was moving. One committee member noted that his essays "[spoke] to his own feelings and thoughts which align directly with those of ALA ([American Library Association] and FLA core beliefs." Overall, Joseph was found to be very deserving of this scholarship.

Outstanding New Librarian
Katrina Brockway received her MLIS in December 2020 and is truly an outstanding new librarian. She is enthusiastic, dedicated, creative and informed. She has a flair and a passion for programming and is willing, even excited, to innovate and iterate to meet the needs of the community. She doesn't, however, let her enthusiasm for programming detract from other areas of librarianship. She currently serves on two system committees and dedicates a significant amount of time to advancing their goals, especially those related to equity and inclusion. She consistently provides excellent customer service to both internal and external customers, frequently receiving particular praise for going above and beyond. Katrina embodies the future of librarianship.

Betty Davis Miller Youth Services Award - Children
Palm Beach County Library System's Virtual Sensory Storytime or (VSST) was created to provide an opportunity to engage members of this community through an inclusive and interactive zoom storytime complete with books, songs and sensory activities. VSST was one of the most well-attended virtual programming for the Palm Beach County Library System with a weekly average attendance of 22 members. Since its inception in May 2021, more than 520 individuals have attended these storytimes with a passive viewership of 342 participants. Due to the Palm Beach County Library System's ability to recognize a need in the community during difficult times, VSST has become a beacon for the special needs community where members continuously attend and enjoy quality programming.

Intellectual Freedom
The Palm Beach County Library System made an exceptional contribution to increasing the right-of-access to stories featuring black girls as the lead characters in print, electronic and audiobook content through the adoption of the national #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign. The displays, bibliography and catalog-searchable hashtag have raised awareness in the community and called attention to the importance of all children seeing themselves in the books they read. Due to the ingenuity and perseverance of staff, young black female library members now have a resounding presence among the Library's collection.