School Librarian of the Year Award 2018

Winners Announced!

On 5 March, 2018, The General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai and Emirates Literature Foundation awarded the 6 winners of the School Librarian of the Year Award for their transformative work in encouraging students to read, develop their creativity and enhance the importance of reading in the schools of the UAE. Two librarians were awarded special recognition for their determination and dedication to their students.

In recognition of the commitment and inspiring efforts of all the nominees, it was also announced at the ceremony that all librarians nominated for the School Librarian of the Year Award 2018 will be awarded registration to the school librarian training day in the Library Conference hosted by the American Library Association (ALA) Conference at Sharjah International Book Fair in November 2018.

The ceremony was held at the landmark Etihad Museum, Jumeirah 1 during the week of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2018 and the UAE’s Month of Reading. In attendance were His Excellency Mohammed Al Murr, Emirates Literature Foundation Trustee and Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation Chairman, His Excellency Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Dr. Salah Abdul Aziz Al Qassim, Advisor, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Dr Hissa Ahmed Binmasoud, Director of Public Libraries Department and Shumous Bin Faris, Dubai Coordinator for the Month of Reading, The General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai in attendance. The prizes were presented by His Excellency Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti – Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai and bestselling UK children’s author Jacqueline Wilson.

Prizes

• First Place: Trip to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter for 4 people, to include flights, accommodation and entry to the studio tour; visit to the British library; an item of library furniture; voucher for AED2000 for library books
• Second Place: Visit to Dubai Parks and Resorts for 4 people including two nights’ accommodation at a Dubai hotel; voucher for AED1500 for library books
• Third Place: Voucher for AED1500 for library books
• Special Recognition: voucher for AED1000 for library books

All three winners, plus the librarian awarded special recognition in each category, were also awarded registration to the 3-day Sharjah International Book Fair/ American Libraries Association conference in November 2018.

Click here to learn more

Winners

Finalists

We were thrilled to have received seventy-seven nominations recognising the achievements of wonderful librarians from all over the UAE.

Nominees

The nominees received in English from public school libraries were:

The nominees received in English from private school libraries were:

Click here to view nominations received in Arabic.

Please click here to view the winning librarians from the first edition in 2017.

Terms and Conditions

• The competition is open to all school librarians in all stages of school education, from primary/elementary upwards.
• One candidate can be nominated from each library.
• One candidate can be nominated from each library in schools which have separate libraries for each stage.
• The librarian and the head teacher must be aware of and approve of the nomination.
• Any librarian can nominate him- or herself.
• Previous applicants who were not awarded first prize in the previous edition of the award (2017) are welcome to enter again.
• Only one nomination will be accepted per librarian and once submitted, nominations may not be updated.
• Joint nominations are allowed only where the librarian role is performed as a job share partnership where each librarian holds equal status.
• Joint nominations must be submitted as a single entry, and the prize would be shared by Nominees should they win.
• To be considered for the award, Nominees must be employed at the same school listed on their entry form at the awards ceremony in March 2018.
• All Nominees will receive a certificate of participation. Please ensure Nominee names are spelled correctly on the entry form. Certificates will be distributed at the awards ceremony in March 2018.
• The deadline for receiving entries for the competition is final. No entries received after the given date will be considered.
• The first and second-place winners must give their preferred dates for travel and the details of their three companions by 15 April, 2018. The prize(s) must be taken by 5 September 2018, and cannot be deferred.
• In case a first prize winner is unable to travel to the United Kingdom for any reason, a visit to Dubai Parks and Resorts for 4 people including four nights’ accommodation at a Dubai hotel will be offered as an alternative.
• There is no cash alternative to any of the prizes.
• Prizes unclaimed within the specified deadline will be deemed to have been forfeited.
• Emirates Literature Foundation does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries due to the Internet service. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.
• Entrants agree, in case they are short-listed, to the Emirates Literature Foundation’s use of their name, photograph and student-testimonial video in relation to related publicity material and activities. Schools should be aware that they need to have parental consent for use of student testimonials.
• Entrants agree, in case they are selected as winners, to participate in and provide content for media and Emirates Literature Foundation publicity material and activities as requested by the Foundation.
• By entering for this award, Nominees are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions and to agree to be bound by them.
• Judging decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into with regard to these decisions.

What our attendees from last year said

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