Archive: Around Town

Senaca Falls, NY -- Librarian Susie Gutenberger was presented with the Joan Cooke Youth Services Award a week ago at the Finger Lakes Library System's 52nd Annual Meeting.  Gutenberger is the first professional librarian at the Lansing Community Library, and has served in that position for only two years.  Friends Of Lansing Community Library President Donna Scott says that makes the award all the more prestigious.

"The work that Susie Gutenberger has done since she joined LCL two years ago is extensive, innovative, imaginative and impressive," Scott says.  "Her many accomplishments in so many different endeavors in the library shows why a good library needs to have a professional librarian at the helm, and not just well-meaning, hard-working volunteers running the operations.  She has taken the Lansing Library to higher levels of service than we volunteers ever could have."

The Finger Lakes Library System holds its meeting and awards ceremony in a different location each year.  The Lansing library joined the system two years ago when it received its charter.  Benefits include a vast resource of materials for inter-library loans, online catalogs, and professional assistance for libraries in the system.

"Our system is great," Gutenberger says.  "They have consultants I can call for materials for story time, or help with my adult book club, or with our charter or our tax identification number.  They tell me exactly who I need to call.  It's invaluable for rural libraries.  I work here with one and a half staff members, so I really rely on the system and my colleagues in the five Tompkins County rural libraries."

Deborah Wells-Clinton, Lansing Library Clerk Paula Weaver, and Scott attended as well.  Gutenberger, who did not know of the award ahead of time, says that she almost didn't make it to the convention because of a family medical crisis.  But by Wednesday things were in hand well enough that she decided to go.

FLLS Youth Services Consultant Annette Birdsall presented the award to Gutenberger.  Birdsall noted that youth services librarians serve a vast constituency, requiring them to be patient with parents, crying babies, and exuberant youth, among others, with a high level of professionalism.

"As you can imagine we all succeed along that scale to different measures according to our varied strengths and talents," she said.   "But the recipient of this year's Joan Cooke Youth Services Award succeeds on every rung of that ladder, and makes it seem effortless."


Gutenberger was honored for her work visiting all the grades for the summer reading program, which she also manages, for the weekly Story Time With Miss Susie sessions, and managing the library as a whole while maintaining strong youth programs.

"I see early literacy and school readiness as a big part of what the library can do for Lansing," she says.  "We have a school system that is very strong, but our summer reading program is very important.  Our babies and toddler story time, and programs we hold for families are a big part of something that is very much needed for the community."

In addition the library has hosted a bilingual pajama story time that was so successful that she plans to initiate a monthly pajama story time at which kids will come in pajamas with their blankets to hear a story at the library just before bed time.  The next one is scheduled for December 15th with a 'holidays  around the world' theme.  The SPCA also brings an animal to story time once a month.

Gutenberger is also part of a group that is establishing a 'Read To Me Lansing' program, a pilot program for the Family Reading Partnership.  The program will have its kick off at the book fest in Ithaca on November 16th.

"Every one of the librarians I have met from the 33 libraries in the system are so dedicated to their jobs and to their communities," Gutenberger says.  "I was very flattered to receive this award."

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