Cedar Rapids Public Library Receives “Nation’s Highest Honor”

Monday was a great day for the Cedar Rapids Public Library. Ten museums and libraries around the United States were honored by being named winners of the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The recipients were chosen by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It honors libraries and museums for service to their communities and, according to the IMLS, is "considered the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries."

The ten 2017 winners, chosen from 30 nominated finalists, were selected because they exceeded "the expected levels of community outreach and are known as catalysts for community change."

Four of the ten 2017 winners are from the midwest. Here's the complete list:

• Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (Alaska State Museums) (Juneau, Alaska)
• Aspen Art Museum (Aspen, Colorado)
• Cedar Rapids Public Library (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (Skokie, Illinois)
• Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (Wausau, Wisconsin)
• Long Beach Public Library (Long Beach, California)
• Peralta Hacienda Historical Park (Oakland, California)
• Richland Library (Columbia, South Carolina)
• University of Minnesota Libraries (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
• Waterville Public Library (Waterville, Maine)

The Cedar Rapids Public Library will receive its award, officially, this summer in Washington, D.C.

[via IMLS]