Genevieve Stevens is the Recipient of the 2021 Young Adult Librarian of the Year Award
September 13, 2021
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Genevieve Stevens, who currently works as an Adult Services Librarian in the Adult & Teen Services Department at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library and who was formerly a Teen Librarian at the Naperville Public Library, is the 2021 recipient of the Illinois Library Association’s Young Adult Librarian of the Year Award. The award, presented by ILA and the Young Adult Services Forum, recognizes an Illinois Young Adult Librarian who is making an outstanding local contribution in library services to young adults in their community by creating and implementing library programs and services that identify and meet the needs of the teens in their community. The award is sponsored by Sourcebooks and honors the positive impact Sharon Ball has had on Illinois librarians and teens.
In an unprecedented year for librarianship and our communities, Genevieve “Jennie” Stevens displayed dedication to her position and to the teens she serves through patience, flexibility, and ingenuity. In an effort to combat Zoom fatigue and maintain her connection to her teen population, Stevens adapted her Winter Reading Program to incorporate hands-on activities that could be done safely at home.
Her volunteer initiative with Sourcebooks, which provides ARCs of books to teens in exchange for peer-to-peer reviews for the Library, ensures that even teens without a library card or spending money have access to high-interest reading materials. She is currently developing a Summer Reading Program for both teens and adults that will emphasize reading stories from around the world.
“Jennie is always the first to volunteer—at work, in her personal life, and through ILA. She’s a model teen librarian and an inspiration for everyone she works with.” Maisie Iven, Teen Librarian at Naperville Public Library.
The Young Adult Librarian of the Year Award will be presented at an awards ceremony during the 2021 Illinois Library Association Annual Conference. The conference will take place October 12-14, 2021.
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