2013 MLA Librarian of the Year – Larry Neal

When one thinks of service to the library profession, one thinks of Larry Neal, MLA’s 2013 Librarian of the Year. His stand-out mentorship qualities, passionate advocacy and commitment to libraries of all types are among the reasons he was selected to receive this honor.

His contributions to the profession are broad. Larry participates in on the national level as the current president-elect of the Public Library Association. He was also recruited as a mentor for the ALA Emerging Leaders Program and Spectrum Scholarship. On the statewide level, He is a past president of MLA and former Legislative Committee chair, where he continues to serve as a committee member and whose contributions have propelled MLA’s advocacy efforts to great heights. Larry also helped design the LibraryCareers.org website, which Library Journal described as a jargon-free website that explains why the career would appeal to people with a variety of interests and skills, the kinds of libraries and positions they might fill and how to become a librarian.

Larry is a dedicated and conscientious library leader, able to bring people along to make an organization the best it can be. He is known for his intelligence, common sense and sense of humor. He has the ability to make complicated ideas easy to understand and holds firm to the belief that libraries are joyful places where all are welcome.

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