Wheaton's Betsy Adamowski named state's Librarian of Year

Wheaton Public Library Director Betsy Adamowski is the 2018 recipient of the Illinois Library Association Librarian of the Year Award.

The award recognizes a librarian's distinguished service and leadership in Illinois libraries and is presented and sponsored by Today's Business Solutions Inc.

Adamowski has worked tirelessly to improve the library, creating a business resource center, a coffee shop, a 21st-century interior remodel vision plan, a community engagement department, and an arts and culture center.

She also led her library to win the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce 2017 Large Business of the Year award.

In the Wheaton community, she has instituted numerous partnerships and is active in the chamber of commerce, as well as the Rotary and Lions clubs.

Adamowski has been one of the primary leaders of two major efforts to improve library leadership in Illinois: Directors University and Elevate.

Elevate is a statewide library initiative to recruit and nurture future library leaders. The program is a joint project of Illinois Heartland Library System, the Illinois Library Association, the Illinois State Library and Reaching Across Illinois Library System.

Directors University is a five-day series of workshops that will train public library directors for their new executive roles. Topics include library and employment law, policies, budgeting, board-director relations, leadership, community partnerships, and Illinois State Library and system competencies.

In addition, she served as the Illinois Library Association president from 2015 to 2016 and on the ILA executive board from 2008 to 2011.

The Librarian of the Year Award will be presented at the Awards Luncheon in October during the 2018 Illinois Library Association annual conference in Peoria.