Mobile library champion of the year
John Townsend, a Warwickshire County Council mobile library driver for the past seven years, has won a prestigious national award from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).
John, whose mobile library covers the Atherstone area, received the Mobile Library Champion of the Year award from Baroness Betty Boothroyd, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, at the annual ‘Mobilemeet’ event in Dewsbury on Saturday May 8.
CILP said entries for Mobile Library Champion had flooded in, and although the sorting through the entries took the award committee a good deal of time, it had been a heart-warming task. “It is great to know that so much good work is going on at the sharp end of the service,” they said.
John was nominated for the award by Janet Everett, Mobile and Community Services Manager for Warwickshire Libraries. “We constantly receive compliments and glowing praise for John from his customers, about whom he cares passionately,” said Janet. “He is an excellent ambassador for the library service, cherished by colleagues and customers alike.
The challenge was distilling so much praise and endless compliments into just 250 words for the award submission.”I am delighted and honoured to be even nominated, let alone win the award,” said John. He insisted the award was really a tribute to the whole mobile library and community services team.
Cllr Chris Saint, Portfolio-holder for Leisure, Culture and Housing, said: “Well done, John, and many congratulations. I’m delighted that the work you and your colleagues do, taking library services out to remote communities and housebound readers, has received the national recognition it so richly deserves.”
The award-winner is a keen reader himself, whose favourite authors are Bill Bryson and Bernard Cornwell. A family man, John and wife Marie have three children and four grandchildren. Earlier this year John won the WOW customer care award.
He was nominated as “a smashing, friendly chap who is immensely considerate and always goes the extra mile”. “That sums John up perfectly,” said Janet. “When winter snow prevented him from taking the mobile library out on the road, customers called at John’s base at Atherstone Library to see him. What a following!”