Manatee County Employee Wins Librarian of the Year

BRADENTON, FL – The state awards keep coming for Manatee County Public Libraries.

Ava Ehde, the Manatee County Public Libraries service manager, has been named the 2017 Librarian of the Year by the Florida Library Association. The award recognizes outstanding and ongoing contributions to Florida librarianship.

Ehde’s honor follows a year in which Manatee Libraries was honored with four awards, including Florida Library of the Year.

Cheri Coryea, the director of Neighborhood Services, of which Manatee Libraries is a part, said Ehde has worked ceaselessly since she became manager in 2011 to help ensure the Manatee Libraries’ team meets the evolving needs of the community.

“Ava has elevated the level of commitment to libraries, the staff and the public since she took the helm to bring a wide range of programming and resources to our community,” Coryea said. “Her desire for every person in Manatee County to have access to free resources and services for life through their library card is becoming a reality.”

Coryea said several new programs and services implemented over the last two years are examples of Ehde’s commitment, including the I Am a Lifelong Learner Program, where a literacy coordinator conducts ongoing outreach through the use of literacy kits and instructional toys. Also, an Area 52 Creative Lab was added that contains state-of-the-art technology for teens to develop new skills in software, Arduino kits, robotics and industrial sewing.

Manatee Libraries recently also added a new Voyagers travel program, 805 Literary Journal and new collections, such as telescopes, binoculars and cake pans.

Kevin Beach, the library operations manager, said Ehde played an integral role in the team’s winning of their recent awards.

“In just five years as an administrator, Ava has reset the library’s priorities, raised the morale of a struggling staff, energized us to be more compassionate and community-aware, put us in a position to consistently set circulation and use records and vaulted our reputation as an innovative organization that gets results,” he said.

As part of her objective to brand the library as a community center rather than a book warehouse, Ehde helped transform library space to make room for tutoring, art displays and special events, such as the annual Teen Recycled Fashion Show and Reading with the Rays, as well as a new business incubator for small business owners and the eventual creative labs in each location.

Manatee Libraries has seen steady growth under Ehde’s management, both in the number of customers and materials checked out. Nearly 850,000 customers made use of its resources more than 3.9 million times this past year, which is a record high. Downloads of digital ebooks, eaudio and movies have continued to double each year, while technical training and computer assistance were up 16 percent. The library system’s program attendance has risen 60 percent since 2011 to 47,000.

Ehde is involved in both FLA and the American Library Association, serving on Florida Leadership Development Committee. She is also this year’s Tampa Bay Library Consortium Board President and regularly presents at regional and national seminars and events.

For more information on Manatee County Public Libraries, visit www.mymantee.org/library.

Image via the Manatee County Government website