Dr. Lesley Farmer receives the Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship

CHICAGO — Dr. Lesley Farmer, Professor of Educational Technology and Media Leadership at California State University, Long Beach, (CSULB) is the American Library Association (ALA) 2020 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship recipient.

The award, which seeks to acknowledge exceptional contributions to promoting the field Library Science, reflects her accomplishments and service to the profession.

During Dr. Farmer’s career, which spans several decades, she has shown a strong commitment to teaching, research and promoting school librarianship, that is unequalled in the field. Her professional work addresses the vital role that school librarians play in assuring the lasting significance of building strong literacy and information skills in k-12 schools.

As a professor at CSULB, Dr. Farmer helped create and later revise the Teacher Librarian Credential Program, in Education, Option in Educational Technology and Media Leadership, part of the Master’s Degree track. She has also been acknowledged for her vast experience and professional expertise in public and academic agencies throughout the world.

Her extensive experiences have also been acclaimed by many groups within the library community.  She has been on the boards of YALSA and AASL, co-chair of the AASL/ACRL Committee on Information Literacy, as well as many other leadership positions. She has spent her career promoting the value and importance of school libraries and their librarians.

According to nominator, Dr. Rachel Bindman, Branch Manager at the Palms-Rancho Park Library, Los Angeles, California,

“Dr. Lesley Farmer clearly embodies the ideals and accomplishments of the Ken Haycock Award and its commitment to increasing public appreciation and recognition of librarianship. Her career is a testament to the longstanding commitment and support of teacher librarians that she brings to every professional endeavor. Her students have benefitted tremendously from the practical and academic training they have received at CSULB, all of which continues to reverberate after graduation. Her research publications and work with educational institutions and library committees throughout the country and worldwide have unquestionably broadened the scope of interest in school librarianship and championed the essential task that teacher librarians perform: namely, teaching k-12 students how to navigate and become literate –on multiple platforms--in a world dominated by information and digital challenges. For the last ten years, I have had the privilege of working with Dr. Farmer as an adjunct instructor in the Teacher Librarian Services Credential Program at CSULB and there is no doubt that her inspiring work, as teacher, scholar and advocate for school librarians, makes her the ideal candidate for the Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship.” 

The Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship Jury members are: Chair Susan Hess, Retired School Librarian, J, Drusilla Carter, Director, Pearle L. Crawford Memorial Library; Dorothy M. Persson, Retired; Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library; and Sarah Jones, Temple University, Science and Engineering Librarian.

The award will be presented at the American Library Association Annual Meeting, June 28, 2020, in Chicago.

The deadline for submission of applications for the 2021 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship is February 1, 2021. Guidelines and applications are available on the ALA website.