OLBA W.J. Robertson Medallion Public Librarian of the Year

The W.J. Robertson Medallion is presented by OLBA to a public librarian who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of public library service in Ontario. William John Robertson was a founding member of OLA. The thirty three “originals” that established the first constitution at the first Annual meeting of the Association in April, 1901, were a very distinguished and active group and W.J. Robertson was among the most prominent. Robertson became the fourth President of the Association in 1905 – the first trustee to be elected into the position. Robertson was twice chair of the St. Catharines Free Library Board. This award recognizes and honours significant contributions to the library profession.

Criteria/Eligibility

The nominated candidate must be a professional librarian working in an Ontario library for all or at least part of the calendar year in which they are honoured. Librarians from small, medium and large libraries shall be given equal consideration.
The selection of the nominated candidate will be based on significant contributions in at least one of the following criteria:  o Demonstrated innovation in the advancement of the library profession.   o Promotion of library services through any means of dissemination of information. o Demonstrated creative uses of technology in the delivery of library and information services. o Creation of original work, regardless of the medium used, that contributes substantially to the improvement of library services.
Librarians currently serving on the OPLA Council are not eligible for this award.

Nomination Procedure

The nominator must be a member in good standing of OLBA or OPLA.
The nomination form can be located on the OLA Website on the awards information page.
The nomination package should include evidence to support the nomination, potentially including but not limited to: o Nominee’s work history and significant positions in a library. o Evidence of nominee’s contributions. 1 o Examples of leadership and innovations, as in special projects, new services, community partnerships, etc. o Letters of support from those who have been impacted by the nominee. o Press clippings or other material demonstrating recognition of nominee’s impact.
Nominations will be accepted between: September – November.
The closing date for nominations in any given year is: November 30
Once the winner has been chosen, the OLBA President will contact the successful nominator. o The OLA office will contact all unsuccessful nominators.
Unless otherwise arranged, the OLBA President will also contact the successful nominee and request a photo for promotion purposes. o The OLA office will later connect with the nominator and the winner for award presentation logistics.
If desired, nominators may be involved in the award presentation such as creating and/or writing the presentation speech. Please indicate your interest to do so in the nomination form.

Selection Process

The OPLA Council will appoint the Selection Committee. It will be composed of three OPLA members and will include at least one OPLA Councillor.
Nominees who are not selected may be re-nominated in subsequent years with the submission of updated documentation.
The OPLA Awards Committee will review all of the applications and assess candidates’ eligibility. Eligible applications will be assessed according to the criteria as above and any supporting the documentation.
The OPLA Awards Committee will present all qualified candidates to the OPLA Council for consideration. The Council will consider all potential candidates, including those nominated from the membership.
The presentation of the award is at the discretion of the OPLA Council and is not necessarily presented on an annual basis.

Award Presentation Information

This award is presented by the President of OLBA at the Public Library Awards Gala in conjunction with the OLA’s annual Super Conference.
The winner will be notified in advance of the award presentation.
At the presentation, an introductory speech will be delivered outlining the achievements of the award winner.
The recipient will prepare a short acceptance speech.
Award winners receive two (2) complimentary tickets to the Public Library Awards Gala; one for themselves (or designate), and one for a guest. Additional tickets must be purchased.