July Siebecker receives 2019 Larry Romans Mentorship Award

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender and Government Documents Round Tables (GLBTRT and GODORT) are proud to announce July Siebecker as the 2019 recipient of the Larry Romans Mentorship Award.

The Award's namesake, Larry Romans, mentored numerous librarians at Vanderbilt University, where he worked for over 30 years. For decades, he was also a tremendous leader and mentor in the Tennessee Library Association, providing a positive influence on the association and the careers of innumerable librarians, many of whom have gone on to be leaders in ALA. Of particular note, during his 23 years of service to ALA Council, Larry mentored countless new and veteran councilors.

"As the Youth Services Librarian at the Hubbard Memorial Library in Ludlow, Massachussetts, July has been a source of support and a mentor to many teens who found a home away from home at the library. With kindness, patience, and gentle guidance, July helped the youth of her community grow into thoughtful, kind, confident adults. Adults who, unsurprisingly, have gone on to pursue numerous careers in librarianship, where they, too, have found fulfillment in creating the same safe spaces for children and teens in their communities they once enjoyed in Ludlow thanks to July." said Ana Elisa de Campos Salles, Chair, GLBTRT. "Her mentorship of this generation of librarians continues, and will echo in their mentorship of future librarians."

"This is an amazing honor, and I am deeply grateful to the selection committee, the wonderful people who nominated me, and to everyone who had a hand in creating the Larry Romans Mentorship award," said July. "I didn't have the good fortune to know Larry, but I think he might agree that passing on what we love is one of the best things we can do with our lives, and I am humbled that my mentorship work is now part of his legacy. I work in a small library located in a small town, but no place is too small to have a big impact when we believe in the work we do."

“July’s letters of support are filled with personal stories about the profound impact she has had on the lives and careers of so many in our profession,” said Emily Rogers, chair of the GODORT Awards Committee. “I was particularly moved by how much of July’s professional work has focused on encouraging the personal development of youth.”

The award consists of a citation and $1,000. The award will be presented at the GODORT Awards Reception at the ALA Annual Conference. In addition, recognition of the recipient will also take place at the beginning of the Stonewall Book Awards Program held at the ALA Annual Conference on June 24, 2019.

To learn more about the Larry Romans Mentorship Award, please visit: http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt/awards/larry-romans.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association is the oldest professional association for LGBTQ+ people in the United States. It is committed to serving the information needs of the LGBTQ+ professional library community and information and access needs of individuals at large. It is home to GLBT Book Month (tm), a nationwide celebration every June, and the Stonewall Book Award, the oldest award honoring LGBTQ+ books. The GLBTRT is committed to encouraging and supporting the free and necessary access to all information, as reflected by the missions of the American Library Association and democratic institutions.

The Government Documents Round Table provides a forum for the discussion of problems and concerns and for the exchange of ideas by librarians working with government information. It provides a nexus for initiating and supporting programs to increase the availability, use and bibliographic control of documents, increases communication between documents librarians and the larger community of information professionals, and contributes to the education of government information professionals.