South Carolina’s first winner of the “I Love My Librarian Award” presented annually by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the New York Times to only 10 librarians nationally is Georgetown County Library Director Dwight McInvaill.

Learning of the honor, McInvaill said, “I do not consider myself to be particularly loveable.  But I am dedicated to making life better for our citizens.  We are living in a period of great technological and social change.  Libraries need to continually innovate and to experiment to stay relevant and serve their communities.  That is what we have tried to do at the Georgetown County Library.  To have been nominated by local folks for this award is a true honor, and I can promise local residents that we will not rest on our laurels, but roll up our shirtsleeves and keep working for them.”

“This award honors the significant relationship between library users and librarians.  It also recognizes these 10 librarians for the notable impact they have on the lives of the people they serve and on their communities,” said American Library Association President Jim Rettig.

During the past several years, the library has coordinated a unique collaboration with nine other local cultural agencies and created the Georgetown County Digital Library (www.gcdigital.org) to preserve its community’s history.  This work – underwritten recently by a grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation – has resulted in an online collection with over 17,000 items including historic photographs, maps, and Nineteenth Century newspapers.  Images from the collection were used this fall by the television show “Anderson Cooper 360” to assist in the production of a documentary on the Lowcountry ancestors of First Lady Michelle Obama.  The site receives about 5,000 hits daily worldwide.

“Go to the Georgetown County Digital Library website,” said John Sands, Lowcountry Director, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, “and you will find pictures of Bernard Baruch, Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  But more importantly, you will find pictures of the servants who prepared their meals, the hunting guides who took them into the remarkable Lowcountry, and the houses where they raised their families.  When Anderson Cooper 360 prepared a segment on Michelle Obama’s family roots as slaves on an antebellum plantation in Georgetown County, the research staff found the images that illustrated the story through the county’s digital library.  Without those images, the story and our collective understanding would have been vastly less valuable.  Without Dwight McInvaill’s vision and willingness to take a chance on a new concept that would serve his community, there would have been no digital library.”

To combat at its roots a county illiteracy rate approaching 30%, the library has established – in concert with Georgetown County First Steps – collections of books in approximately 40 childcare centers.  The library has also developed a special curriculum which a library storyteller uses to teach youngsters basic language and motor skills.  The library also offers childcare providers quarterly training sessions for accreditation.  For this work, the library received in 2003 the first “Counties Care for Kids Award” given by the National Association of Counties.

The library also addresses teen illiteracy and a local high-school dropout rate that has approached 38% by having a countywide interactive gaming program at all of its four facilities.  To participate in this endeavor – which is funded by a major grant from the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation – teens must register for library cards and check out library materials regularly.  They must also attend library programs on topics ranging from culture to technology.  Most importantly, they must remain in school and maintain good grades.

In 2007, the Georgetown County Library became South Carolina’s first – and so far only – library recognized nationally by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services for a National Medal for Library Service.  Then First Lady Laura Bush noted in a White House ceremony that this library has emerged as a national treasure by inspiring residents to embrace their heritage and to dream of a bright future.

Dwight McInvaill has served as the Director of the Georgetown County Library since January 1996.  During the last year, he earned his library about $1.3 million dollars in grants and usually averages about $300,000 in grants annually. 

According to an economic impact study by the University of South Carolina in 2005, there was almost a 350% return on the state’s total investment in South Carolina’s public libraries.  Also, more than 13.8 million people visited South Carolina’s public libraries annually – approximately, 10 million more than those attending all USC and Clemson sports events.  As McInvaill, noted when recalling these statistics, “Take that, [Clemson Mascot] Tiger and [USC Mascot] Cocky!  Libraries are Number One!”

Each of the “I Love My Librarian” winners will receive a $5,000 cash award at a ceremony and reception at the New York Times Building hosted by the New York Times on December 3, 2009.  In addition to Dwight McInvaill, awardees include the following individuals:  Sol A. Gomez of Tucson, Arizona; Laura Grunwerg of River Edge, New Jersey; Lucy Hansen of Mercedes, Texas; Alice K. Juda of Newport, Rhode Island; Karen E. Martines of Cleveland, Ohio; Seamus Scanlon of New York, New York; Dana Thomas of Fort Myers, Florida; Carolyn Wheeler of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; and Oceana Wilson of Bennington, Vermont.

Over 3,200 library users nominated a librarian as part of the Campaign for America’s Libraries according to the American Library Association’s Public Information Office.  During this third year of the award, nominations were open to librarians working in public, school, college, community-college, and university libraries. 

Librarians in our nation’s 123,000 libraries make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans every day.  More information about the I Love My Librarian Award is available at the www.ilovelibraries.org/ilovemylibrarian.