Librarian of the Year Dr. Cherrell Robinson. - Contributed

The Library and Information Association of Jamaica (LIAJA), honoured some of the most dedicated librarians in Jamaica recently at the president's dinner.

Dr. Cherrell Robinson was awarded the Distinguished Librarian of the Year award for her 30 years in the library and information services. During that time, she served as regional director for the International Association for School Librarians (IASL), from 1995-1999. Dr. Robinson is a senior lecturer in the Department of Library and Information Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The distinguished Librarian of the Year Award is intended to recognise excellence in librarianship, specifically as it advances the objectives and mission of the recipient's organisation or institution.

Dr. Robinson has been instrumental in the development of the schools' section of LIAJA. She has also successfully lobbied the Ministry of Education and the Jamaica Teachers' Association for the right classification for teacher librarians and for the Ministry of Education to assign the responsibility for school libraries to an education officer.

An author

Dr. Robinson is also an author. Passionate about Jamaican children reading indigenous material, she has written Jamaican children's stories. These include Jo Jo's Treasure Hunt and the children's magazine, Scribbles, the only publication of its kind for children in the English-speaking Caribbean. She also developed the course: Literature for Children and Young Adults - at the UWI. She fervently believes that a good school library is a necessity in every school. She continues to spread her passion throughout the region by conducting training courses, workshops and seminars.

Other nominees

Runner-up was Miss Hermine Salmon, librarian at the University of Technology.

Two other nominees for the award were Pauline Nicholas and Mavis Belasse. Mrs. Nicholas is the electronic reference librarian in the main library at the University of the West Indies, while Ms. Belasse is the manager of Information Systems at The Gleaner Company. Both were awarded certificates of commendation for their achievements.