On December 16, the American Library Association (ALA) announced 10 recipients of the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award, nominated by library users for their expertise, dedication, and impact in their communities. Four academic librarians, three public librarians, and three school librarians were selected to receive the 2025 award.
This year, ALA received nearly 1,300 nominations from library users across the country. Nominations highlighted librarians’ outstanding service in expanding access to literacy and library services, outreach to their communities, and supporting the needs of the most vulnerable.
“Librarians nationwide make positive impacts on their communities every day, and the inspiring stories from this year’s I Love My Librarian Award recipients prove how transformative their efforts can be to the lives of their patrons,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl in the announcement. “From Alabama to Alaska, from the Bronx to Maui, the vital services these librarians provide reinforces what we all know: that libraries everywhere are an essential public good, and the people who power them serve to inform, connect, educate, and empower their communities.”
Each honoree will receive $5,000 as well as complimentary registration and a travel stipend to attend ALA’s LibLearnX conference in Phoenix. The award ceremony will take place during the LibLearnX welcome reception on January 24, and will stream live on YouTube.
Abby Armour
Director
Mukwonago (Wisc.) Community Library
Mukwonago Community Library (MCL) has called many places home in its more than 140-year history, including two jail cells in the village hall and an old roller rink. Today MCL’s largest location yet is thriving in downtown Mukwonago under Armour’s leadership.
In 2022, the library began efforts to repatriate items from its Grutzmacher Collection, which contains about 12,400 Native American artifacts that local resident and collector Arthur Grutzmacher gave to the library in 1965. Armour cataloged the collection and guided the library through compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
This year, the library reunited belongings that were removed from a burial site near Sacramento decades ago with the Wilton Rancheria Tribe of California. MCL is the first public library in Wisconsin, and the third in the US, to repatriate Belongings under NAGPRA.
Armour is also expanding access to library materials and services.
With support from the library’s Friends group, she has grown MCL’s Library of Things collection, called The Thingery, which lets patrons check out everything from stargazing packs to woodburning kits to a steel tongue drum.
She used grant funding to add smart lockers outside the library for 24/7 hold pickups—one of the first libraries in the state to do so.
In partnership with other area libraries, Armour also facilitated MCL’s participation in the Library Memory Project, which provides programs to patrons affected by memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia and cognitive decline.
“I can safely say that in my more than 40 years of library service, I have rarely encountered anyone as enthusiastic, as forward-thinking, as risk-taking, competent, and yet professional as Abby Armour,” one of her nominators wrote. “She is a phenomenal person and librarian and is definitely a ‘Librarian to Love’!”
Charlotte Chung
Library Media Specialist
Suncrest Elementary School in Morgantown, West Virginia
Across the 15 schools in the Monongalia County School District, students speak a total of 53 native languages. From her library position at Suncrest Elementary School, Chung is on a mission to make sure students across the district can access reading materials that will turn them into motivated readers.
Chung secured significant grant funding to help make it all happen. In 2023, she received grants from the American Association of School Librarians and Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia to support literacy development for students learning English. She used the grants to purchase books and audiobooks in students’ native languages and make them available across the district via an interlibrary loan system.
In 2024, she received a $50,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative to fund her Building Bridges to Literacy project. Developed entirely by Chung, the project is designed to motivate students to read and to engage reluctant readers with a library collection and resources specifically geared toward students’ needs and interests.
Partnerships on the project include students at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Computing and Information, who help develop materials, and collaborating with Morgantown Public Library staff on book collection.
“Students adore her, and staff members look to her as a resource,” her nominators wrote. “She has created a welcoming, supportive library environment. Thanks to Mrs. Chung, the library has truly become the heart of our school.”
Missy Creed
Consumer Health Librarian
Ohio State University in Columbus
Creed is always on the move. As the consumer health librarian at Ohio State University’s Health Sciences Library and the sole librarian within its Library for Health Information (LHI), she works both in and outside the library’s walls to get reliable health information into community members’ hands.
Creed participated in 60 outreach events last year, becoming a fixture at community health fairs and vaccination clinics. She provided more than 1,000 individuals with trustworthy and digestible health information across a broad spectrum of topics. Recently, the National Network for Libraries of Medicine named LHI an ambassador library in its Partner Outreach Program, which funds small outreach events for five years.
Behind the desk at the library in Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, Creed provides free and confidential reference services to the public and medical center staff. It’s not medical advice, but rather reliable health information that can help patients have better clinical conversations with their providers.
“What I find so special about Missy’s work is her steadfast commitment to reaching underserved populations in central Ohio,” one of her nominators wrote. “She truly enjoys and embraces any effort to get appropriate information into the community’s hands.”
Jessica Gleason
Bookmobile Librarian
Wailuku (Hawaii) Public Library
In August 2023, wildfires tore through western Maui, killing more than 100 people and devastating the island town of Lahaina. More than 2,200 structures were destroyed—most residential—and the town was left without its library. Then Jessica Gleason rolled in with the Holoholo Bookmobile, decked out in colorful art, a bright yellow awning, and full shelves.
Within a month of the fires, Gleason established services for the affected area, identifying locations where the bookmobile could reach the most people. She worked with shopping centers, schools, churches, hotels, and government officials to provide books, internet access, and programming, as well as essentials such as meals and clothing for families in need.
From bringing keiki (children) storytimes to patrons—at Maui’s Napili Park and the district court building’s multipurpose room—to bringing materials to senior housing centers and the Maui Community Correctional Center, Gleason has grown to know her patrons and anticipate their needs. While families continue to grieve and many still live in temporary housing, Gleason and her bookmobile have provided joy and a sense of normalcy.
“Amid all the uncertainty, fear, and grief in the aftermath of Maui’s 2023 wildfires, Jessica has been a steadying presence and force for positive action among her colleagues and her community members,” one of her nominators wrote. “And she continues to work in and with Maui’s West Side community, developing connections that are helping so many heal and grow beyond their tragic losses.”
Peggy Griffith
Administrative Librarian
Ferris School in Wilmington, Delaware
At Ferris School, Griffith creates opportunities for youth in rehabilitation.
Overseen by the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families, Ferris is a detention and treatment facility for boys ages 13–18. On average, judges sentence teens to six months at Ferris.
Griffith has modernized the Ferris library and ensured its compliance with American Correctional Association standards. She has cataloged existing library materials, replaced damaged or outdated resources, repurposed old furniture to make the space more inviting, and created library curriculum content for teachers.
When Ferris students transition back into the community, Griffith provides the teens with personalized letters of encouragement and resources for résumé assistance and connecting with social workers.
She also encourages them to get library cards, because she believes access to books and developing a library habit can positively alter the trajectory of their lives.
“Peggy’s work is not only a model for other librarians but sets the standard for all professionals working within our community,” one of her nominators wrote. “Her compassion, attention to detail, and unwavering focus on the well-being of those she serves and works with makes her a shining example of what it means to truly care for the people we work with, especially children.”
Candice Hardy
Director of the Learning Resources Center
Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama
For Hardy, there really is no place like home. She directs the Learning Resources Center (LRC) at her alma mater Miles College (MC), a historically Black college in Fairfield, Alabama. There, she instills in the students she serves the same values she received at MC.
Hardy prioritizes nurturing students’ growth as informed, empowered citizens. Ahead of the 2024 US general election, she led efforts to organize a campuswide voter activation day, drawing hundreds of students to engage with civic leaders and organizations and learn about the voting process.
In early 2024, Hardy helped create a new exhibit space on the LRC’s first floor. Its inaugural exhibition, “Roots and Renaissance: An African American Journey through Art,” featured works from 25 local Black artists curated by Fairfield Black Art Collective.
Hardy has leaned into programming to engage and educate students beyond the classroom, including author visits, a film screening and panel on the last ship that brought enslaved people from Africa to the US, and career readiness services.
“Ms. Hardy deeply cares about every student that walks through the door of the library,” one of her nominators wrote. “She goes out of her way to make sure that everyone feels welcome. Whether it is a smile, a kind word, or simply being there to help, her presence makes it a comforting place for all.”
Analine Johnson
Library Media Specialist
Johnson High School 9th Grade Campus, United Independent School District in Laredo, Texas
One student at Johnson’s school sums up her impact this way: “The library became my safe space. Mrs. Johnson gave me the courage to believe in myself.”
For 25 years, Johnson has supported and built futures for at-risk readers and students in need, particularly those contending with poverty and language barriers. She helped raise more than $20,000 to assist students from low-income backgrounds in purchasing books. She also created an after-school literacy program to support recent immigrants and emerging bilingual students.
Across the street from her campus, at Cielito Lindo Park, Johnson spearheaded the addition of a “Lil Library Box.” Alongside student helpers, she maintains the enclosed colorful bookshelf with a trove of free titles.
The Lil Library Box, which is a collaboration between Johnson’s school, district council members, and the Laredo Parks and Recreation Department, is walking distance from several campuses in the school district and helps encourage children to read during the summer months.
The Lil Library Box also helps realizes a dream of Johnson’s—to help kids build their own home libraries.
“Analine Johnson is a librarian who changes lives,” one nominator wrote. “She has built libraries that are more than just spaces for books—they are places where dreams are nurtured, confidence is built, and futures are shaped.”
Theresa Quiner
Director
Kuskokwim Consortium Library in Bethel, Alaska
In the remote Alaskan city of Bethel, accessible only by plane or boat, Quiner is helping her local community thrive.
Kuskokwim Consortium Library (KCL) is unique, in that it serves both as an academic library for the satellite Kuskokwim Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a community library for the city of Bethel and its primarily Indigenous Yup’ik and Cup’ik population.
Yet, even in this remote area with a service population of about 6,500, KCL bustles with more than 350 patrons a day.
Quiner understands and meets the community’s needs with abundant and relevant programming, including classes that teach camp cooking, canning, and other necessary skills for living in rural Alaska.
To serve the most vulnerable, especially those experiencing homelessness and children, Quiner has formed local partnerships, such as with the Bethel Housing and Homelessness Coalition to help gather data needed to build permanent housing.
Quiner also hosts youth programs for the Tundra Women’s Coalition, an organization that supports women and children who are victims of battery and sexual assault.
“Our community thrives because the dedicated members who serve here put their heart and soul into making Bethel a great place to live,” one of her nominators wrote. “Theresa exemplifies this notion of community involvement, and her hard work and dedication to the citizens of Bethel are what makes her a cherished member of this community and a most deserving recipient of this honor.”
Jamar Rahming
Executive Director
Wilmington (Del.) Institute Free Library
Rahming’s 2018 appointment as executive director of Wilmington Institute Free Library (WIFL) sparked a transformational rebirth for the 102-year-old library.
In the words of one nominator, “[WIFL] was dying, our city was dying, and our residents were actually dying due to the city’s violence.”
WIFL’s metamorphosis into a thriving educational, cultural, and literacy center can be largely attributed to Rahming’s leadership and focus on community partnerships and fundraising.
Staffers have stocked bookshelves for children inside local barbershops, hosted “Pitch or Ditch” competitions for minority-owned small businesses to pitch their ideas and compete for cash prizes, and partnered with local nonprofit Harper’s Heart to open a diaper bank and community closet on the library’s second floor.
Rahming’s efforts have also attracted well-known authors and cultural icons to participate in library programs and events. The growing list includes actor LeVar Burton, dancer Misty Copeland, actor Jenifer Lewis, singer Dolly Parton, and the cast of A Different World.
In a majority-Black, predominantly working-class community, where many residents rarely leave city limits, Rahming brings the world to Wilmington.
One of his nominators wrote, “Jamar Rahming is the epitome of a librarian who goes above and beyond, not only in his work but in his mission to transform lives through learning, inclusivity, and community engagement. His leadership has fundamentally reshaped [WIFL] and has positively impacted countless lives.”
Nelson Santana
Associate Professor / Deputy Chief and Collection Development Librarian
Bronx (N.Y.) Community College
Santana strives to empower Bronx Community College (BCC) students—more than half of whom identify as Hispanic, and more than one-third identify as Black—through exploration of activist histories and ensuring its library’s collection reflects the diverse population it serves.
As a scholar, Santana focuses on three areas: Latin American migrant activities; the role of libraries and archives in communities of color; and how libraries impact students’ lives. He uses this research trifecta to raise awareness of and empower historically disenfranchised groups, while engaging students outside the classroom.
In 2022, with funding from ALA’s American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries program, Santana launched the exhibition “Transnational Dominican Activism: Documenting Grassroots Social Movements,” about activism spearheaded by the Dominican populations in New York City; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and Santiago, Chile, between 2009 and 2020.
In 2023, he collaborated with another professor to secure an ALA Building Library Capacity Grant to support the BCC Reads initiative, a campuswide common book program that showcases challenged titles, starting with Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.
“Professor Nelson Santana represents the very best of what a modern librarian can be—innovative, inclusive, scholarly, and deeply committed to student success,” wrote one nominator. “His work has not only enhanced our library’s resources and services but has also elevated the academic experience for our entire college community.”
Since 2008, library users have shared more than 24,000 nominations detailing how librarians have gone above and beyond to promote literacy, expand access to technology, and support diversity and inclusion in their communities. Carnegie Corporation of New York sponsors the I Love My Librarian Award, with additional support from the New York Public Library. The award is administered by ALA.
Read about previous award recipients on the I Love My Librarian Award website.
