Maxine Bleiweis Wins National Library Award

Maxine Bleiweis, Executive Director of the Westport Library, will be presented with the Charlie Robinson Award for 2015 by the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

This prestigious award, established in 1997, honors one public library director each year who has demonstrated a professional record as “a risk taker, an innovator and/or a change agent in a public library,” one who is “known for developing and implementing programs which are responsive to the need of community residents,” according the PLA’s description.

Mike Guthman, president of the Westport Library’s Board of Trustees, described Bleiweis’ contribution to the Library: “By every measure, Maxine was instrumental in ushering our Library into the new millennium and guiding us through a dynamic period of change. Through the gift of her imagination, visionary thinking and ability to motivate others, our Library is now recognized as one of the most innovative libraries in the world.”

In the world of libraries, Bleiweis has an international reputation as a maverick, helping to transform the way people view and make use of libraries. Among many innovative changes made during her tenure, the Westport Library installed one of the first Maker Spaces in a library, providing patrons with access to 3D printing and participatory learning. This led to annual Mini Maker Faires which now attract thousands of visitors. Bleiweis has overseen The Westport Library more than doubling its program offerings for all ages, which now include art exhibits, information technology equipment and support, workshops, collaborative spaces and support and meeting spaces for groups focused on dozens of topics from writing and storytelling to coding and employment search.

Bleiweis' views on innovative library services have a wide audience. She has been a frequent speaker at ALA and PLA meetings and events, exploring topics from economic development to customer service. She was invited by the US Embassy to conduct workshops on maker spaces in Moscow. In the fall of 2014, the Westport Library introduced robots for teaching computer programming, a debut which was covered in a Wall Street Journal article and accompanying video viewed by over 12,000 people.

Bleiweis began her library director career at the public library in Suffield, Connecticut in 1974, followed by an 18-year tenure as director of the award-winning library in Newington, Connecticut. She has served as the President of the Connecticut Library Association (CLA), which awarded her Librarian of the Year in 2011. Bleiweis has authored a book on libraries as economic drivers in communities through service to businesses.

In acknowledging this honor, Bleiweis said “Charlie Robinson started a revolution. He began the transition that moved libraries from exclusive institutions to community hubs used to benefit everyone. Instead of perpetuating the notion of libraries as judgmental institutions whose purpose was to ‘elevate’ the pace of the people’s reading, Robinson was the first to say, in effect, ‘Give patrons what they want to read.’ He began including popular best-sellers and entertainment fiction which had not previously been reflected in public library collections."

Bleiweis has announced her retirement from full-time work this coming summer and is planning to become a consultant. She described Robinson’s influence on her, saying "As head of Baltimore County public libraries, he validated my own developing thinking and helped shape me as a librarian. To win the award that has his name on it is the ultimate honor.”

Along with the honor of being selected, the Charlie Robinson Award includes a $1,000 prize as a gift to the librarian. The award will be presented at the ALA’s Annual Conference in San Francisco in June of this year.

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Submitted by Westport, CT

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