(Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA) − The Progressive Librarians Guild is pleased to announce the winner of the 2005 Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize. Jennifer Downey has been awarded the prize for her essay entitled “Public Library Collection Development Issues Regarding the Information Needs of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Patrons.” Ms. Downey is currently enrolled as a graduate student in San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science.
The Miriam Braverman Memorial Prize is awarded annually for the best essay written by a student of library/information science on an aspect of the social responsibilities of librarians, libraries or librarianship. The prize is named in honor of Miriam Braverman (1920-2002), an activist librarian who was a longstanding member of the Progressive Librarians Guild and a founder of the American Library Association’s Social Responsibilities Round Table. She was a strong proponent of the social responsibilities perspective within librarianship and an inspiration to younger librarians entering the field.
Ms. Downey’s essay was one of many submitted by library and information science students from colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Their papers considered such subjects as the impact of the USA PATRIOT Act on libraries, open access publishing, the “digital divide” in information access, and numerous other topics. Ms. Downey’s essay will be published in a future issue of Progressive Librarian, the journal published by the Progressive Librarians Guild. She will also receive a $300 stipend for attendance at the 2005 American Library Association’s annual meeting in Chicago, and an award certificate at the PLG annual dinner.
The Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG) was founded in 1990 and is committed to supporting activist librarians and monitoring the professional ethics of librarianship from a perspective of social responsibility. For more information, visit the Progressive Librarians Guild's website.
