Kath Knowles Young Leaders' Award

Kath Knowles Young Leaders Award Inaugural Recipient

Kelly Shearer, Outreach Services Coordinator with the Riverina Regional Library, was announced as the inaugural winner of the Kath Knowles Young Leaders Award at the Public Libraries NSW Awards Lunch on 20 November 2011.

The title of Kelly's winning project is "Being Social", which aims to:

Utilize technology to engage with isolated groups within communities
Strengthen communities and their ability to interact
Provide access to library services using technology
Assist others to use technology to engage with communities
Strengthen the capacity of communities to develop enduring skills

Kelly has received $5,000 to undertake research on this topic, and will present her findings at the next Public Libraries NSW conference in 2012.

About the Kath Knowles Young Leaders' Award

Kath Knowles, former Chairperson of Public Libraries NSW (previously known as the Country Public Libraries Association of NSW and Public Libraries NSW-Country), passed away on Friday 19 November 2010 at the age of 39. Kath had been diagnosed with liver cancer in the months prior to her death, and succumbed to that illness.

Kath was the last mayor of Bathurst City Council in 2004 and served as administrator from May 2004 until March 2005 during the process of amalgamation between Bathurst City and Evans Shire Councils. She was elected as a member of the inaugural Bathurst Regional Council and served as a member of the council until 2006.

Four the 4 years before her death, Kath was employed at Country Energy where she had been recognized as a swiftly-rising leadership candidate.

Kath was recognised as an inspired leader who brought a fresh and practical perspective to the various leadership roles that she occupied. She was committed to equality and diversity, and had a strong commitment to people with disabilities.

Public Libraries NSW has established an annual award, to be entitled the Kath Knowles Young Leaders' Award, in memory of Kath. The Award is to be presented to a staff member within the NSW public library network, aged under 40 years, whose Council or Library is a member of Public Libraries NSW or Public Libraries NSW-Metropolitan.

Applicants will demonstrate skills in the following areas:

Collaborative leadership
Innovative programs, with a particular emphasis on socially-inclusive initiatives (in recognition of Kath's deep commitment to people with disabilities)
Commitment to lifelong learning

The age restriction is significant in that Kath would have turned 40 on 7 December 2010.

This award will strengthen the Association's commitment to professional development of our younger employees, especially those who may not necessarily meet the criteria for the Colin Mills Scholarship.

The Award

$5,000 be awarded to a library staff member who meets the above mentioned criteria each year. The funding will cover:

Wages, travel and living costs for a period of 1 week to be spent with a nominated mentor
Ongoing communication with mentor for a period of 12 months, including work on a selected professional development project

Sponsorship

The Kath Knowles Young Leaders' Award is being generously sponsored by Local Government Procurement Pty Ltd for the initial three years (2011-2013). Local Government Procurement (LGP) was established by the Local Government and Shires Associations of New South Wales on behalf of its members to create a procurement operation dedicated to meeting the specific needs of Local Government. LGP undertakes tenders on behalf of the local government sector and establishes contracts for use by councils. These contracts are a significant time saving for councils and being based on the buying power of 152 councils, also provide cost savings. Of significant benefit to Public Libraries NSW members are the LGP contracts for Library Books and associated products as well the contract for Library RFID systems.

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Kath Knowles Young Leaders' Award