| Louise Blalock National Librarian of the Year 2001 |
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| Library Journal has named Louise Blalock, Chief Librarian of the Hartford Public Library, Librarian of the Year 2001. The award is presented annually by the editors of the national magazine, a trade journal of the library profession. The Journal bestowed the honor on January 12 at the American Library Association’s mid-winter meeting in Washington DC. |
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| John N. Berry III, Editor-in-Chief of the Library Journal, says that Blalock’s "optimism and the incredible evidence of its impact in Hartford and on library services, convinced the Journal’s editors that Blalock was clearly the right choice for the first Librarian of the Year in the new millennium." Berry said Blalock had convinced him "that public libraries are not only secure and central to the future of Hartford and America, but that they will grow and flourish, fulfilling a modern mission with very ancient roots." Blalock’s ability to forge partnerships, galvanize government and public support; respond to neighborhood needs; and obtain funding needed to provide new library services were acknowledged in Berry’s Journal article. New and creative service initiatives at the Hartford Public Library are direct responses to understanding the community and what it needs. Blalock believes that "the genius of the public library is in meeting the individual wherever they are in their lives." |