On October 1, 2025, we announced the 2025 winners of the I Partner with My Public Library Awards. This year’s ten Awardees include:

  • Beaver Valley Outreach, nominated by The Blue Mountains Public Library, Ontario, Canada
  • Boone County Parks Department, nominated by Boone County Public Library, Kentucky, USA
  • Colorado State University Department of Occupational Therapy (CSU-OT), students and faculty, nominated by Poudre Libraries, Old Town Library, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
  • Community Action, Inc. of Central Texas, nominated by San Marcos Public Library, Texas, USA
  • Geezers in Sneakers Getting Coffee, nominated by Orono Public Library, Maine, USA
  • LivingRoom Community Art Studio, nominated by Oshawa Public Libraries, Ontario, Canada
  • Mackenzie Health Network Hospital, nominated by Vaughan Public Libraries, Ontario, Canada
  • Plenty! Farm & Food Bank, nominated by Jessie Peterman Memorial Library in Floyd, Virginia, USA
  • The Sharing Place, nominated by Orillia Public Library, Ontario, Canada
  • Valley Program for Aging Services nominated by Waynesboro Public Library, Virginia, USA

A team of 27 expert reviewers from 20 states and provinces in the USA and Canada convened during the month of September to examine 36 nominations submitted during Summer 2025 by public libraries in 20 states and provinces in the USA and Canada.

These annual awards were started in 2023 after a three-year national (U.S.) study determined that the most impactful public library initiatives require strong community partnerships with a wide range of collaborators. We’re thrilled to shine a light on library partnerships through this endeavor.

The goal of these annual awards is two-fold: (1) to celebrate the amazing work that is only possible when public libraries collaborate with community partners, and (2) to highlight opportunities for both public libraries and potential community partners to start and extend collaborations.

On Friday, November 14, 2025 the international non-profit Let’s Move in Libraries honors these partners at the 2025 I Partner with My Public Library Awards in an Awards Ceremony. All are welcome to join us for this celebration.

In addition, detailed information on the 10 Awardees will be posted to the I Partner with My Public Library webpage during the month of October. Check back for more information!

Complex community needs can only be addressed through community collaborations. It is our honor to award and celebrate the work these amazing community collaborators and their public library partners have done across all of North America.

Nominations in 2026 will open on June 1, 2026.

Learn about previous awardees as the webpages for the 2024 I Partner with My Public Library Awards and the 2023 I Partner with My Public Library Awards.

You can also learn more about this effort in this article published on OCLC/WebJunction.

Intergenerational connections thanks to partnership between Elmwood: An Inspira Health Group Senior Care Facility and Hubbard Public Library, a 2024 Honorable Mention.

Why does Let’s Move in Libraries sponsor this award?

Since 2016, the non-profit organization Let’s Move in Libraries has been a national and international voice advocating for strengthened partnerships between public libraries and others that want our communities to be healthier places for all. Through this work, we have seen that public libraries can do a lot to promote health, but this health promotion work is almost always made possible by community partners and community collaborators. Recognizing a gap around this topic, in 2023 Let’s Move in Libraries launched the annual I Partner with My Public Library Award to begin the process of creating a platform to celebrate and acknowledge the crucial work of community collaborators to the work of public librarianship. This award is open to all partners, not only those focused on health promotion.

Who reviewed in 2025?

We want to thank the following experts for taking the time to review nominations in 2025. We will be seeking volunteer reviewers in 2026 beginning in May, 2026.

  • Alice Mackey Delaware County District Library Ohio USA
  • Alicia Schwarzenbach Ascension Parish Library Louisiana USA
  • Amy Kendrick University of North Carolina at Greensboro University Libraries North Carolina USA
  • Carolyn Freedman The Charlie Cart Project California USA
  • Cora Schaeff Sarasota County Libraries Florida USA
  • Damiana Fortenberry University of Alabama at Birmingham Libraries Alabama USA
  • Diane Palmieri Marshall University Libraries West Virginia USA
  • Elizabeth Warren Denver Public Library Colorado USA
  • Fiona Johnson Beaufort County Library South Carolina USA
  • Glenda Puckett Lois Nelson Public Library (Princeton) Texas USA
  • Jeff Graveline University of Alabama at Birmingham Libraries Alabama USA
  • Jennifer Park Ramapo Catskill Library System New York USA
  • Julie Althaver Boone County Public Library Kentucky USA
  • Kelly Weigand Auburn University Libraries Alabama USA
  • Keri Gould Prince William Public Libraries Virginia USA
  • Mara Whitman Bloomfield Public Library Connecticut USA
  • Margie Sheppard Network of the National Library of Medicine, Region 3 Kansas USA
  • Megan Bell University of Alabama at Birmingham Libraries Alabama USA
  • Megan Weis SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare South Carolina USA
  • Michah Followay Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Kentucky USA
  • Miriam Rosen Evanston Township High School Illinois USA
  • Miriam Tuliao Penguin Random House New York USA
  • Paula L. Brown Gaston County Library North Carolina USA
  • Rachel McDonald Pierce County Library System Washington USA
  • Rhonda Jessup Whitby Public Library Ontario Canada
  • Sara Tekavec Elkins Park Free Library, Cheltenham Township Library System (CTLS) Pennsylvania USA
  • Scott Businsky Route 9 Library & Innovation Center (New Castle) Delaware USA

LET’S TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY COLLABORATION!