County supervisors receive Outstanding Library Board award

The Arizona Library Association recently presented Pinal County with the Outstanding Library Board award, the organization’s most prestigious honor.

The association awards this recognition to a library board or equivalent management or advocacy group under whose guidance a library or group of libraries has substantially improved. The organization’s Web site says it takes into consideration the board’s policies, its success in promoting library service to and for its members and its relationship to the community.

The award was presented earlier this month but was announced at Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting. The current three member County Library Board consists of Supervisors David Snider, Lionel Ruiz and Sandie Smith. As the Library Board, the Supervisors serve as the final decision maker on all business for the county libraries. This is the first time Pinal County’s leadership has received this honor.

The letter nominating the county and its Supervisors cites Pinal County’s rampant growth and the evolving needs of constituents in the county’s changing communities. To respond to this growth, the Supervisors have supported budget increases that allow the libraries to keep up with technology, which now brings library services as close as a resident’s kitchen table.

“With countywide remote access (see related story), residents can log in from home or work to access valuable medical, investment and research tools, along with entertaining resources like online children’s books,” Supervisor David Snider said. “This brings the library to the living room.”

“Plans are also in the works to replace sagging wooden shelves, add air conditioning to a library that currently uses an aging evaporative cooler, buy new and more durable furniture for children’s areas and repair a potentially dangerous sidewalk in front of one of the volunteer libraries,” Supervisor Lionel Ruiz explained.

Under the guidance of the board allocations to member libraries for the purchase of books and library materials has increased every year since 2003. This has helped even the smallest rural libraries keep pace with community needs.

“We believe that libraries are a gateway to the world. All residents should be able to do essential research, have access to information and enjoy the entertainment and educational value of a good book,” Supervisor Sandie Smith said. “We are grateful that the Arizona Library Association recognized our great library system with this award.”