The Charles Beard Library Advocacy Award was originally called the Library Advocacy Award. It was renamed in 2003 to honor Charles Beard, Georgia’s strongest library advocate. The Charles Beard Library Advocacy Award is given each year to recognize someone not employed in or by a library who has made outstanding contributions to libraries.
This year’s winner is Beth Spillane with Literacy for All!
Beth’s nomination notes her involvement with promoting the action steps for Literacy in Georgia. She helped facilitate several meetings of library directors and staff from across the state, building consensus across the age spectrum. She continually involved libraries in the process to meet the state’s literacy needs. When COVID-19 hit, Beth utilized her connections to allow five rural public library systems to offer 81 additional WiFi connections to assist K-12 students without internet connections. Her work seeks not only to find one time benefits but also to assist with ongoing capacity building work.