Sometimes the Loleta Fyan Small and Rural Libraries Conference Committee receives a nomination that demonstrates exceptional service, creativity, or community impact but that doesn’t necessarily fit in any one awards category. In these cases, the committee has chosen to honor a nominee with a special acknowledgement of their contributions to their library and community. Jane Gyulveszi, recently retired Director of the Bellaire Public Library, is this year’s Community Programming Innovator Award winner. Jane Gyulveszi came to the Bellaire Public Library as Director in 2015 after two years of service at the Devereaux Public Library and many years owning a bookstore in Ann Arbor. Bellaire Public Library is a Class I Public Library located in a village of 1,000 people. In the five years that Jane was at Bellaire Public Library, she transformed services, managing growth in circulation, patron visits, program attendance and community partnerships. She also transformed the library’s physical space to make it possible to hold many different kinds of activities in the library’s 3,000 square foot building. When Jane started at Bellaire Public Library, annual summer reading programming attracted 10-20 kids each year. From 2015 to 2019, those registration numbers changed to 80-120 kids each summer. Jane worked to connect to the schools, bringing school buses of children over to visit the library and learn about its services. During her time as Director, the library launched preschool programming, a young adult book club, knitting groups, genealogy groups and a number of adult programs. She worked with the Friends of the Library, the Library Board of Trustees, the library staff, and library volunteers to purchase resources for the library and build a variety of programs. Jane ran four book groups including partnering with Grass River organization for environmental readings, local churches for inspirational books, and mindfulness readings with local yoga students. The library began showing movies, hosting travelogues, holding local photography contests, and coordinating visits with local and national authors. Each year Jane worked with the Bellaire Chamber of Commerce to coordinate live music events during the summer as well as partnering for the “Light Up the Night” winter event, which included partnering with a local restaurant for a soup night that brought in more than 400 people. Jane invited Zingerman’s Bakery to present about the history of their business, hosted readings with “Charles Dickens” for Christmas, and had half of the village show up to watch Elvis perform. She engaged different groups of people in the community by inviting community members to wear their Red Wings attire for a showing of “The Russian Five” and holding annual sales with antique vendors in the library’s parking lot. She held several costume contest events to celebrate events like the anniversary of Woodstock (with live music, of course!) and the Wizard of Oz. She took the library on the road to places such as a local butterfly house and participated in the annual Bellaire Rubber Ducky Festival. Jane’s work at Bellaire Public Library reaffirms that small libraries can offer big services. Her creativity and innovation in programming have inspired her staff and her community to think big. Kay Rankin, President of the Bellaire Friends of the Library described Jane as “a creative, enthusiastic, and energetic leader . . . She makes people feel needed and appreciated. Jane has simply transformed our library into a thriving, vital part of our community.” AWARD COMMITTEE: Sonya Schryer Norris, Library of Michigan Carol Dawe, director, Lakeland Library Cooperative Angela Semifero, director, Marshall District Library Dion Mindykowski, director, Tahquamenon Area Library Martin Gibbs, Library of Michigan Foundation Board Member -- Angela Semifero Library Director Marshall District Library 124 W. Green St. Marshall, MI 49068 (269)781-7821x11 semiferoa@yourmdl.org