LCPL earns Honorable Mention for Library of the Year

Loudoun County Public Library is one of two honorable mentions for the 2021 Library of the Year Award presented by Library Journal and Gale.

Established in 1992, the Library of the Year Award celebrates the library that most profoundly demonstrates service to the community, creativity, and innovation. This year, judges also looked at how the library kept staff and patrons safe and engaged through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every library system in the U.S. and Canada was eligible to win. LCPL was lauded for its response to the pandemic and its commitment to serving Loudoun’s most in-need populations. Among LCPL’s notable accomplishments:

• Making thousands of face shields and other personal protective equipment for first responders
• Being one of the earliest libraries to reopen to the public
• Continuing outreach services to senior communities
• Expanding WiFi access outside of branches
• Providing a robust offering of virtual programming, which included tackling tough topics such as mental health, disabilities, and race and ethnicity
• Hosting ballot boxes for early voting during the 2020 election

“I’m deeply grateful to every member of our staff for their efforts over the past year,” said LCPL Director Chang Liu. “They put aside their fears, came to work, and never stopped searching for innovative ways to serve to the community.”

Founded in 1876, Library Journal is one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the library field.

Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries.