NEW YORK (AP) — There are many ways to win an I Love My Librarian Award.
You might be a fighter against book bans, like Valerie Byrd Fort at the University of South Carolina; or a mentor for graduate students researching biomedicine, like Joanne Doucette at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, or transform a dark basement into a gathering space for families, like Mary Anne Russo at the Hubbard Public Library in Ohio.
They are among 10 recipients of the I Love My Librarian Award, which comes with a $5,000 cash prize and a $750 stipend for the American Library Association's annual convention, held this year in Chicago from June 25-29. The winners were selected from a pool of more than 1,300 submissions by library patrons who explain how a “librarian made a difference in your life or gone above and beyond to serve your community.”
“We recognize the remarkable contributions these 10 librarians make for our communities, for learning, for our health and for the public good,” ALA President Sam Helmick said in a statement Monday. “These librarians are people who power possibility in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our places of higher learning. Their leadership, creativity, and innovation strengthen the communities they serve, and we are proud to honor them.”
Other winners include Tracy Fitzmaurice from Jackson County, North Carolina, praised by the ALA as a “transformative leader for rural libraries”; Deb Sica of the Alameda County Library, in Fremont, California, a champion of diversity and intellectual freedom; Zachary Stier, who has worked for years on literacy projects at the Ericson Public Library, in Boone, Iowa; and Christine Szeluga of New Jersey's Cranford High School, where she secured grants for a podcast studio and history archive.
Also cited were Mahasin Ameen, whose initiatives at Indiana University cover everything from health literacy to information literacy; Mia Gittlen, who transformed the shuttered library at California's Milpitas High School; and Jenny Cox of South Carolina's Georgetown Middle School who worked to boost funding for thousands of new books.
The awards, established in 2008, are presented by the ALA, the New York Public Library and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
FILE - A mother and daughter read at the Josephine Community Library in Grants Pass, Ore., on May 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Books are displayed on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr., File)
MADRID (AP) — Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane practiced on Monday and is expected to be available for Tuesday's quarterfinal against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Kane missed Bayern's win over Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday because of a minor ankle issue sustained in training with England last week.
He took part in the team's training session in Munich before the squad traveled to the Spanish capital for Tuesday's match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
“He is a goal scorer. He is a great player,” Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior said Monday about Kane. “But Bayern is a great team and has many players who switch positions and make it difficult for us. Whoever plays, it will be tough. We will need to be well prepared.”
Madrid and Bayern are meeting in the knockout stage of the Champions League for the sixth time in the past 14 seasons, with 15-time champion Madrid having won four of five two-legged matchups with Bayern since the 2011-12 season: once in the quarterfinals and three times in the semifinals, most recently in 2024. Bayern won in the semifinals in 2012 after a penalty shootout.
“Bayern is an unbelievable team, we’ve seen what it can do this season,” Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said. “We have a lot of respect for them. They’re having an exceptional season. I think Bayern has been the most consistent side in Europe this season. They’re fearless, aggressive, very focused defensively, with an unbelievable striker in Harry Kane.”
Bayern is unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions, with 11 wins, while Madrid is coming off a 2-1 loss at Mallorca on Saturday that hurt its Spanish league title hopes.
“We don’t think about not winning the tie and there is only one possible scenario, which is to beat Bayern and get through the tie,” Arbeloa said. “It’s the only thing we want and the only thing we believe in. All our energy is in the game against Bayern.”
Arbeloa also downplayed criticism of Kylian Mbappé, who has been questioned by some in Madrid recently. Mbappé is coming off a controversial knee injury that reduced his playing time with the Spanish club.
“Mbappé knows perfectly well what Real Madrid is,” Arbeloa said. “I have no doubt about that. He’s someone who has dreamed of being a Real Madrid player. We’ve all seen images of Kylian Mbappé wearing the Real Madrid jersey, dreaming of becoming a Real Madrid player. What he has done to come here wasn’t easy.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts during a La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Real Madrid in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in action in front of Mallorca's Pablo Maffeo during a La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Real Madrid in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
