On April 6, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the 10 recipients of the 2026 I Love My Librarian Award, nominated by library users for their expertise, dedication, and impact on the people in their communities. This year’s award recipients include three academic librarians, four public librarians, and three school librarians.
“As ALA marks its 150th anniversary, we recognize the remarkable contributions these ten librarians make for our communities, for learning, for our health, and for the public good,” ALA President Sam Helmick said in the announcement. “These librarians are people who power possibility in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our places of higher learning. Their leadership, creativity, and innovation strengthen the communities they serve, and we are proud to honor them.”
ALA received more than 1,300 nominations from library users for this year’s award. Nominations focused on librarians’ outstanding service, including expanding access to literacy and library services, outreach within their communities, and supporting the needs of the most vulnerable.
Honorees will receive a $5,000 cash prize as well as complimentary registration and a $750 travel stipend to attend ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago June 25–29. The award ceremony and reception will begin at 7:30 p.m. Central on Friday, June 26, and will stream live on YouTube.
The 2026 honorees are:
Mahasin S. Ameen
Teaching and Learning Librarian
Indiana University Indianapolis
For students at Indiana University Indianapolis, Ameen is a trusted guide in navigating today’s complex information landscape. As one student put it, “Working with Mahasin Ameen has felt like traveling with someone who not only knows the landscape, but also points out the markers that I would have overlooked.” In her role, Ameen empowers students and faculty to navigate and leverage academic databases, identify information resources, and evaluate and assess information quality. By doing so, she is transforming information literacy into a core component of the university’s learning communities.
Ameen is also known in and beyond the university for advocating for students from historically marginalized populations and serving underrepresented communities across Indianapolis. As a liaison to several schools within the university, she has worked with faculty to incorporate discussions of race and social justice into curricula, such as the effect of systemic racism on health resources. And working with the Indianapolis Public Library (IPL) through an “All of Us” grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Ameen helped provide health literacy programs and emergency care kits at all IPL locations.
“Mahasin Ameen’s work exemplifies the heart of librarianship: meeting people where they are and helping them achieve their goals,” one of her nominators wrote. “Whether supporting university students as they navigate complex research challenges or helping community members build digital literacy skills, she creates welcoming, empowering spaces that celebrate learning and inclusion.”
Valerie Byrd Fort
Teaching Assistant Professor
University of South Carolina, Columbia
Byrd Fort is one of the creators of the Get Ready, Stay Ready Community Action Toolkit, a nationally recognized resource that provides librarians and educators with tools to fight censorship and invites parents and community caregivers to get involved. Building on this toolkit, she helped develop READCON, a curriculum for library readiness, advocacy, and community empowerment that equips library workers with strategies to foster constructive dialogue, de-escalate tense situations, connect with stakeholders and decision makers, and develop positive messaging.
Prior to her role at the University of South Carolina (USC), Byrd Fort served as a school librarian in the state for more than 15 years. Leveraging that experience, she now provides library services at the South Carolina Center for Community Literacy, a children’s library operated by USC’s School of Information Science that examines new books for children and young adults and provides outreach activities to address literacy issues locally. For years, Byrd Fort coordinated Cocky’s Reading Express, USC’s signature outreach program that brings the university’s mascot Cocky to Title I elementary schools across the state to perform storytimes and provide free book giveaways.
“If the library could be personified, it would come to life as Valerie Byrd Fort,” her nominator wrote. “She is the face of librarianship. Her pure love of what libraries and literacy represent, her genuine passion, her smile, her enthusiasm, her desire to reach all students and citizens through the library, is how we all know her, and she does it all in the service of librarianship.”
Jenny Cox
Library Media Specialist
Georgetown (S.C.) Middle School
When Cox arrived at Georgetown Middle School eight years ago, she saw an opportunity to reimagine the library as a more dynamic and student-centered space. Today, it’s the academic heartbeat of the school.
Thanks to her efforts, classroom library use has ballooned to more than 350 instructional class visits each year. She collaborates with teachers across the school to embed library services and literacy skills directly into classroom instruction. Her robust programming—including custom escape rooms, The Amazing Race–inspired academic challenges, and Jeopardy! tournaments for curriculum content review—has also transformed student engagement within the library.
Cox serves as one of the lead librarians for Georgetown County School District. She advocated for increased district library funding, an effort that helped raise per-student allocations from $17 to $27. She also spearheaded a $400,000 capital funds initiative that placed more than 18,000 new books into the hands of students across the county, and she has authored district-wide library policies covering collection development, weeding, and budget accountability.
“I love my librarian because she does not simply manage a library,” one of her nominators wrote. “She changes lives, reshapes systems, strengthens our district, and builds futures through literacy, access, mentorship, and advocacy. If there is a librarian in this nation who embodies the true spirit of the I Love My Librarian Award, it is Jenny Cox.”
Joanne Doucette
Associate Professor and Associate Director for Research Services and Knowledge Management
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston
Doucette uses her expertise in performing complex analyses to make sense of the trove of empirical studies that form the basis of medical decision-making, and she teaches her students to do the same. Supporting graduate students studying a broad spectrum of topics—from pharmaceutical economics to drug regulatory affairs to clinical research and more—she provides mentorship to guide student theses, dissertations, and submissions to medical publications. Doucette’s own contributions to scholarly publishing include more than 80 peer-reviewed citations spanning decades.
In May 2020, two months after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, Doucette joined the Librarian Reserve Corps, a group of more than 100 volunteers worldwide who partnered with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network to ensure that health and science professionals had access to updated, reliable information. In her work with the corps, Doucette provided research services for WHO epidemiologists seeking articles and reports on COVID-19’s seroprevalence, a measure of how many people in a community have been exposed to the virus based on the antibodies they have developed.
“Joanne Doucette exemplifies the spirit of the I Love My Librarian Award,” one of her nominators wrote. “She is knowledgeable, very generous with her time, and deeply dedicated to the success of others. Her impact on our students, our institution, and the broader world is profound, enduring, and worthy of the highest recognition.”
Tracy Fitzmaurice
Director (former)
Fontana Regional Library in Sylva, North Carolina
In rural Jackson County, North Carolina, libraries play a central role in a community with limited access to transportation and broadband. Until recently, county librarian and Fontana Regional Library Director Fitzmaurice was a longtime pillar for the libraries.
Her focus on inclusivity made a deep impact on her community, particularly for people with disabilities. She created custom volunteer opportunities for patrons with autism, hosted film screenings highlighting the ways people with disabilities enhance a community, and worked to ensure that all feel welcome at the library. “Tracy’s kindness and leadership in embracing my son’s disabilities and creating a volunteer job he could proudly do has brought him confidence and joy for several years now,” one nominator wrote.
In February 2026, Fitzmaurice resigned from her roles following a turbulent period of local politics and personal attacks. However, her time at Fontana Regional Library was marked by the implementation of an array of community-focused programs, including a digital navigators program to support technology skills, cooking classes with a teaching kitchen on wheels, professional development opportunities, and more. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024, Fitzmaurice worked with IT staff to ensure the library’s internet was available for anyone on the library’s grounds, providing a lifeline to the community when other communications were down.
“To our community, Tracy Fitzmaurice is far more than just our county librarian and the director of the Fontana Regional Library,” one nominator wrote. “She is an indispensable leader and a powerful advocate to the rural communities of Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties.”
Mia Gittlen
Librarian
Milpitas (Calif.) High School
Prior to Gittlen’s arrival at Milpitas High School, the library had been shuttered for years, with no way to borrow books or use its resources. Within months of her onboarding, she had revitalized the space, transforming it into a welcoming hub that invites and encourages even the most reluctant readers to stop in. The library now hosts frequent events, including bingo-themed reading challenges, scavenger hunts, and blood drives, and serves as a regular meeting space for several of the school’s clubs.
A leader in information and media literacy, Gittlen is an Apple Learning Coach, Google Certified Educator, and Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, and since 2019 has served as a Media Literacy Innovator for local public media station KQED. In the community, she organizes an array of community gatherings, including literacy summer camps, a summer book club for school librarians, and monthly fitness meetups.
“Mia Gittlen is not just an outstanding librarian; she is a vibrant, innovative, and empathetic mentor who actively transforms the practice of those around her,” one of her nominators wrote. “Her vision, passion, and infectious laugh show her deep, pure love for the library profession. She goes above and beyond to care for her community of students and colleagues, making her a truly deserving recipient of the I Love My Librarian Award.”
Mary Anne Russo
Children’s Librarian (retired)
Hubbard (Ohio) Public Library
The Children’s Room at Hubbard Public Library was once a dark, cement-walled basement. Then Russo got to work.
Working with an architect to reimagine the space, she transformed it into an open, vibrant space with natural lighting, an indoor gazebo, a dedicated space for programming, and just outside, a sensory garden with plants, waterfalls, and chimes.
Beyond the Children’s Room, Russo has worked to bring an array of engagement activities and programs to the library. Through outreach to local schools, she created an annual program for grades K-4 to visit the library for programming and receive a free book. During the pandemic, she created the Toy Lending Library to provide families with access to educational materials and resources for at-home learning. To support intergenerational engagement, Russo implemented “Reading Pals,” a summer program that invites families with children age 5 and older to meet weekly at the library to read a new book and share activities with residents from Elmwood, a local assisted living facility for senior citizens.
“Mary Anne Russo is a leader at Hubbard Public Library, the Hubbard community, and beyond,” wrote one of her nominators. “She inspires many others by her above and beyond actions and her passion, vision, and commitment.”
Deb Sica
County Librarian
Alameda County (Calif.) Library
Sica has shaped her library career fighting for racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, and intellectual freedom. At Alameda County Library, she led the creation of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) team, a small group that has since blossomed into an Equitable Libraries Division that targets programs to distinct communities. It also manages access and outreach services for underserved communities and the JEDI Mentorship Program, which provides tools for career growth and development to staff from historically underserved backgrounds. She has positioned the library as the sponsoring department for the Alameda County Reparations Commission, which aims to address generations of harm against the county’s Black residents.
In an effort to improve staff safety amid violent incidents across the county’s library branches, Sica connected with PAVE Prevention, an organization that provides de-escalation training to prevent workplace violence.
“Deb doesn’t just support the community—she lifts it,” one of her nominators wrote. “She builds relationships, bridges gaps, and makes people feel welcome, valued, and safe to be themselves. She has created a culture grounded in dignity, empathy, and possibility. Her leadership doesn’t just change policies or programs, it changes people.”
Zachary Stier
Director of Children’s Services
Ericson Public Library in Boone, Iowa
Stier (also known as Mr. Z) has transformed Ericson Public Library into a launchpad for discovery by connecting literacy with science and creating opportunities for learners of all ages, all while doing so with infectious warmth and humor. During his 15-year tenure, he has created original programs and helped forge more than 50 partnerships.
Stier was the co-mastermind of the library’s popular Little Engines project, a program that supports early learning by providing access to fun, educational, and interactive family engagement activities using the reading-tracking program Beanstack. Little Engines has resulted in “tens of thousands of additional minutes spent reading,” according to one nominator.
Outside the library, his Activating Community Voices program brings together experts, community leaders, and librarians to investigate topics like STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) learning, loneliness, and mental health. Speakers not only share their expertise but also show firsthand how libraries can repair our social fabric.
“Mr. Z has become a cornerstone of our community, creating a welcoming space where children and parents come together to learn, imagine, and grow,” wrote one of his nominators. “His work fosters not only a love of reading but also a sense of belonging and connection that strengthens the community as a whole.”
Christine Szeluga
Library Media Specialist
Cranford (N.J.) High School
Since joining Cranford High School in 2019, Szeluga has transformed learning and engagement in the library, securing grant funding to support the addition of a makerspace, local history archive, and podcast studio. Her efforts to modernize the library have also increased circulation by 300%.
In 2024, Szeluga spearheaded the Cranford Dixie Giants project, a local history initiative where students researched Cranford’s semi-professional, all-Black baseball team that played in the early 20th century. What began as a simple research project bloomed into a community-wide effort to honor the team and uncover its hidden history. Guided by Szeluga, students wrote articles and produced podcasts for the school’s news platform, raising awareness of the team’s historic legacy and laying the groundwork for a larger commemoration honoring their resilience and talent in the face of racial discrimination.
“The library is the heart of our school community,” one of her nominators wrote, “and Mrs. Szeluga is at the center. As a leader in the school, she inspires students through her love of learning, and her infectious enthusiasm for reading often helps them see themselves as lifelong readers.”
Since 2008, library users have shared more than 25,000 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 more about previous award recipients on the I Love My Librarian Award website.
