Opening A Library In Own Home While Living On $350 A Week.

Here’s a great story of an American librarian who made us sing!

“Known to the children in her neighborhood as the Book Lady, Copel opened a library in her home while living on $350 a week. She also turned her bicycle into a mobile book carrier, making house visits for families who couldn’t leave home.

Copel has provided more than 5,300 books to children in the Lower Ninth Ward, which was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She moved to the city from New York in 2010 and has been faced with her own challenges, including a burglary and weather damage to her home, which destroyed books destined for children.

Laurence was presented with a new award — the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced With Adversity – will be presented to Laurence Copel, the founder of the Lower Ninth Ward Street Library in New Orleans.

Daniel Handler, also known as Lemony Snicket, presented Copel with a $3,000 prize — and “an odd, symbolic object from Handler’s private collection” — last June 29 during the American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas.

The Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity (Art by Seth)

“Copel is a brilliant example of how librarians can serve as change agents,” said ALA President Barbara Stripling. “Her leadership and commitment show the vital role that librarians and libraries play in energizing and engaging the communities that they serve.”

Award Chair Eric Suess said, “What especially struck me is that Copel is dealing not just with an adverse incident, but with continuing pervasive adversity. She has dedicated so much of her time and personal resources, as well as her tremendous affection for the children of the Ninth Ward.”

Helped by children in the neighborhood, Copel organized two parades – with marching band and float — to distribute books. She sold homemade soaps and raffle tickets to cover the cost of police escorts and permits.”

If you know somebody like Laurence whom you’d like nominate as a Hero of Literacy, do it now!

Read the full story: http://blog.sfgate.com/bookmarks/2014/06/09/winner-named-for-new-lemony-snicket-librarian-prize/