Unique Announces New Awards Program Winners

Unique Announces New Awards Program Winners

Unique Management Services creates new awards program for high-impact libraries

Libraries honored for providing vital services and keeping patrons in good standing

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (Sept. 15, 2021) – A new awards program is honoring libraries for their exceptional community impacts. Unique Management Services, based in Jeffersonville, Ind., created three awards to celebrate high-impact libraries for providing vital services, protecting public assets and keeping patrons in good standing.

“All libraries deserve recognition for their unprecedented response this past year to provide vital services to their patrons and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Unique President and CEO Nicole Atkins. “Unique developed this award program as a small way to say thank you, celebrating libraries and librarians for their constant dedication and meaningful impacts.”

Libraries face a difficult road ahead – already underfunded and looking at further drops due to pandemic-related budget cuts and reliance on city and county use taxes impacted by COVID-19. Recovering lost or unreturned books is more important now than ever to maintain budgets, limit the cost of material replacement and protect taxpayer dollars. As libraries evolve to maintain their collections as philosophies shift about fines, keeping patrons in good standing and securing the timely return of materials is essential to ensure access and equity.

Libraries from coast-to-coast are being celebrated in three award areas including:

Librarian at Your Service Award

Honoring librarians who have provided exceptional service to their patrons including smart utilization of Unique’s Gentle Nudge® material recovery, MessageBee, UniqueChat, Curbside Communication and call services.

Defender of the Collection Award

Honoring libraries that have recovered a high volume of overdue materials in the past 36 months to defend public assets and ensure availability of useful and critical materials for all patrons.

Back in the Fold Award

Honoring libraries that have returned a high percentage of patrons to good standing (or brought them ‘back in the fold’) to be able to continue utilizing library services supporting equity and accessibility in their communities.

Winners were chosen by Unique’s team who partner with more than 1,350 libraries across the country to effectively recover materials while preserving patron goodwill. Libraries were categorized by size, region and volume to determine the top-performing partners who made the biggest impacts on their communities.

Winners were presented with their awards earlier this month and encouraged to share the news of this distinct honor with their patrons, staff and communities. This is the inaugural presentation of these awards, which Unique intends to continue annually to honor its partners who are making a difference in communities across the U.S.

Top regional winners include:

East Region
• Librarian at Your Service
o Large Library: Anne Arundel County Public Library (Annapolis, MD)
o Small Library: Sussex County Library System (Newton, NJ)
• Defender of the Collection
o Large Library: Charleston County Public Library (Charleston, SC)
o Small Library: Staunton Public Library (Staunton, VA)
• Back in the Fold
o Large Library: Arlington Public Library (Arlington, VA)
o Small Library: Rockville Centre Public Library (Rockville Centre, NY)

Midwest Region
• Librarian at Your Service
o Large Library: Worthington Public Library (Worthington, OH)
o Small Library: Natrona County Public Library (Casper, WY)
• Defender of the Collection
o Large Library: Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library (Cleveland Heights, OH)
o Small Library: North Kansas City Public Library (North Kansas City, MO)
• Back in the Fold
o Large Library: Johnson County Library (Overland Park, KS)
o Small Library: Traverse Area District Library (Traverse City, MI)

South Region
• Librarian at Your Service
o Large Library: Frisco Public Library (Frisco, TX)
o Small Library: Gadsden-Etowah County Library (Gadsden, AL)
• Defender of the Collection
o Large Library: Frisco Public Library (Frisco, TX)
o Small Library: Alpine Public Library (Alpine, TX)
• Back in the Fold
o Large Library: Frisco Public Library (Frisco, TX)
o Small Library: Blount County Public Library (Maryville, TN)

West Region
• Librarian at Your Service
o Large Library: Sacramento Public Library (Sacramento, CA)
o Small Library: Glendale Library (Glendale, CA)
• Defender of the Collection
o Large Library: Palo Alto City Library (Palo Alto, CA)
o Small Library: Show Low Public Library (Show Low, AZ)
• Back in the Fold
o Large Library: Seattle Public Library (Seattle, WA)
o Small Library: Burlingame Public Library (Burlingame, CA)

A full list of winners is available here.

About Unique Management Services:
Unique Management Services is the world’s leading material recovery and patron communication service for libraries. Nearly 2000 library partners have worked with Unique to maintain their collections while preserving patron goodwill to efficiently recover more than $1.5 billion in library assets. Unique’s U.S. headquarters is located in Jeffersonville, Ind. For more information, visit uniquelibrary.com or call 800-879-5453.