Awards
The Michigan Library Association presents several professional merit awards in recognition of excellence and outstanding contributions to the field annually. These awards are awarded at Annual Conference and Spring Institute. MLA also recognizes three, distinctive statewide literary awards that are awarded at Annual Conference and Spring Institute.
MLA Professional Awards
Librarian of the Year: This award recognizes a member of the Michigan Library Association who has made an outstanding contribution to effective and improved library service.
Award of Excellence: This award recognizes a staff member of a Michigan library who has made an outstanding contribution to effective and improved local library service.
Loleta D. Fyan Award: This award is given to a library which has transformed a routine task or untried idea into an imaginative, creative service, projected a dynamic image of the professional librarian, and offered his or her college/university, school institution, industry, local community, etc. something which it did not have before.
Trustee Citation of Merit: This award is made to a public library trustee to focus attention on trustee contributions to Michigan library service, and to give recognition to outstanding trustees.
Walter H. Kaiser Award: This award is given to a library, trustee, or person associated with libraries and with the broad educational goals of librarianship who contributes an idea, procedure, concept or adaptation which results in the improvement of a library or libraries.
Award of Merit: This award is given to a member of the Children's Services Division who exemplifies outstanding service to the public.
Information Literacy Award: This award recognizes a Michigan library advocate from any type of library who has made an especially significant contribution to instructional activities in libraries.
Frances H. Pletz Award: This award is given annually to that Michigan public library staff person who exhibits the same outstanding quality of service to teens during the past year or years as the award’s namesake.
Literary Awards
Michigan Author Award: This award recognizes an outstanding published body of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or play script. A panel of judges representing Michigan librarians and the Michigan Center for the Book determines the recipient based on overall literary merit.
Mitten Award: This annual award is intended to recognize one children's book published in the United States within the calendar year that has captured the attention of the children's librarians through the State of Michigan for its ability to communicate through literature to an intended audience.
Mitten Award seals are available for purchase from the MLA office.
Thumbs Up Award: This award is given annually to an author for an outstanding contribution to teen literature having both literary quality and teen appeal.
Thumbs Up Award seals are available for purchase from the MLA office.
