School of Information Studies announces 21st-Century Librarian Award recipients

School of Information Studies announces 21st-Century Librarian Award recipientsMay 20, 2002Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Gary E. Strong, director of the Queens (N.Y.) Borough Public Library, is the winner of the second annual 21st-Century Librarian Award from the School of of Information Studies. SU alumna Jean Armour Polly ’74, G’75 (MLS), founder of Net-mom? and administrator of systems and technology at the Liverpool (N.Y.) Public Library, is the winner of the first 21st-Century Librarian of Central New York Award. The winners of both awards will be recognized at an Oct. 18 luncheon in Syracuse.

The 21st-Century Librarian Award was established to recognize the role librarians play in shaping the 21st-century information environment. The $5,000 cash award is presented annually to leaders in the field who are actively involved in shaping the organizational, social and technological transition to the increasingly digital library.

The 21st-Century Librarian of Central New York Award was established this year to recognize librarians who have been leaders in the evolution of the profession in Central New York. Recipients receive a $1,000 cash award.

Strong earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Idaho in 1966 and a master of library science from the University of Michigan in 1967. He is director of the busiest public library in the nation, serving one of the most diverse communities in the country with a central library, 62 community libraries and six adult learning centers.

He has been a member of numerous organizations at the local, state and national levels, including the New York State Regents Advisory Council, the New York State Advisory Council on Libraries, the National Research Council Committee on Intellectual Property Rights, the Urban Libraries Council, the American Library Association and the Queens College Library School Advisory Board.

Strong has published numerous articles in professional journals and newsletters and is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Business Person of the Year (2002), presented by the Queens County Chamber of Commerce; the 2001 National Library Service Award, presented by the Institute of Museum and Library Service; the 1996 Distinguished Service Award, presented by the Chinese American Librarians Association; and the 1994 Advancement of Literacy Award, presented by the Public Library Association.

Polly received a bachelor’s degree in medieval literature in 1974 and a master of library science in 1975 from SU. She is the founder of Net-mom (www.netmom.com) and the author of Net-mom’s “Internet Kids and Family Yellow Pages 2002” (Osborne McGraw-Hill, now in its sixth edition), a family-friendly directory of 3,500 of the best children’s resources on the Internet. As administrator of systems and technology at the Liverpool Public Library, Polly oversees the management of the library’s Internet connection, its LAN and the development of the department’s technical and help desk services.

Under her Net-mom brand, Polly is a private consultant, writer and speaker. Past clients include America Online, the Bertelsmann Foundation, Children’s Television Workshop, Disney Online and Ask Jeeves for Kids. She is a columnist for Becoming Family magazine and a weekly columnist for the Ask Jeeves for Kids Web site. She is the former director of public services and Internet Ambassador for NYSERNet, Inc. (a regional ISP network), and she was co-principal investigator on “Project GAIN: Connecting Rural Public Libraries to the Internet” (with Charles McClure, 1994), which was funded by the J.M. Kaplan Foundation, Apple Computer and NYSERNet.