Librarian Harrison honored by N.Y. Times

Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Bainbridge librarian Cindy Harrison will be honored by

the New York Times.

It is not often a librarian is described as an ambassador, a diplomat, and an icon. At least until they win the New York Times Librarian Award.

Cindy Harrison, Bainbridge Public Library branch manager, will earn the prestigious award to be formally announced later this month.

“I am thrilled my colleagues and the people that work with me would take the time to write these letters of support”, Harrison said. “It is life affirming.”

This year’s award honors 21 librarians from across the country, “whose exemplary performance and outstanding community service have made their libraries friendlier and more accessible institutions,” according the Librarian Awards contest material.

Last year, the New York Times honored just 27 librarians of a pool of 1,500 nominees.

Library board members, employees and volunteers are not surprised by Harrison’s selection for the prize.

“The fact is that during the long time she has been here she has really been an icon in the community, and this is a wonderful and richly deserved recognition,” board member Val Tollefson said.

Tollefson and others affiliated with the Bainbridge branch nominated Harrison for the honor.

Tollefson circulated the nomination amongst library employees and volunteers, and before long had 32 letters attesting to Harrison’s beloved status as branch manager.

“After an initial spark, it took on a life of its own,” said Sharon Snyder, assistant branch manager. “Everybody wanted to share their Cindy stories.”

An English major as an undergraduate at Kalamazoo College, Cindy found a career as a librarian the perfect match to her love of learning.

“I wanted a profession that was connected with learning because I found that exciting,” she said. “I was a generalist, I was interested in everything, and that seemed to be a good match.”

After earning a master’s degree in library science at Western Michigan University, Harrison moved around the country with her husband, David. She developed a library for the Vermont Department of Social Services and worked as a research librarian for a medical library in Washington D.C.

Having lived in Bainbridge for a stint early in their marriage, Harrison and her husband returned in 1986 with their two children, Jordan and Ben.

“What drew us was the school system for our children,” she said.

Hired as Bainbridge branch manager in 1991, Harrison inherited a library in dire need of updates. Over the next six years, Harrison and the board, presented the community with a refurbished library, better-equipped to house its large collection.

“The board made this courageous decision to find the funding to expand it,” she said. “It took a tremendous amount of work and it was an astounding experience that we were able to remodel it.”

In spite of her accomplishments, the award is more about the attitude she brings to the library.

“She is so professional, warm and welcoming,” Snyder said. “She makes every person that she speaks to feel important.”

Harrison credits the Bainbridge community as much as herself.

“It is a community that really believes in life long learning,” she said. “It brings all the values that make a library special.”