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Miami-Dade Public Library System Wins 15 National Association of Counties (NACo) 2023 Achievement Awards
Miami-Dade Public Library System Wins 15 National Association of Counties (NACo) 2023 Achievement Awards
Miami-Dade Public Library System team members with their 2023 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award certificates
The Miami-Dade Public Library System is excited to have been recognized with 15 National Association of Counties (NACo) 2023 Achievement Awards. The awards honor innovative, engaging and effective county government programs that strengthen and improve services for residents.
NACo Achievement Awards reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. This year, Miami-Dade County received 75 awards across many of its departments. The Library is proud to be among them and honored to have been awarded 102 NACo Achievement Awards over the past seven years.
Keep reading to learn more about our 2023 NACo Achievement Award-winning programs and services.
The Miami-Dade Public Library System is excited to have been recognized with 15 National Association of Counties (NACo) 2023 Achievement Awards. The awards honor innovative, engaging and effective county government programs that strengthen and improve services for residents.
NACo Achievement Awards reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide. This year, Miami-Dade County received 75 awards across many of its departments. The Library is proud to be among them and honored to have been awarded 102 NACo Achievement Awards over the past seven years.
Keep reading to learn more about our 2023 NACo Achievement Award-winning programs and services.
See Past Library Program Winners
Miami-Dade Public Library System team members with their 2023 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award certificates
Art at the Library: Synergy and Opportunity
Art at the Library: Synergy and Opportunity is an art education initiative of the Miami-Dade Public Library System that brings free art classes to young patrons enrolled in the library’s Homework Help & Tutoring Program, to inform and inspire them to create and understand visual art using a variety of mediums. Click here to read more.
Author
Oscar Fuentes
Category
Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation
Art at the Library: Synergy and Opportunity
Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation
Author: Oscar Fuentes
Art at the Library: Synergy and Opportunity is an art education initiative of the Miami-Dade Public Library System that brings free art classes to young patrons enrolled in the library’s Homework Help & Tutoring Program, to inform and inspire them to create and understand visual art using a variety of mediums. Click here to read more.
A Stone of Hope: Representation Through the Arts
This series offers programs that connect the works of artists of historically marginalized groups to members of the community in a hands-on, engaging manner. Additionally, other programs in the series work to promote universal respect, acknowledgment and kindness in the context of themed observances. Click here to read more.
Authors
Rita Mayer
Talia Len
Category
Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation
A Stone of Hope: Representation Through the Arts
Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation
Authors: Rita Mayer & Talia Len
This series offers programs that connect the works of artists of historically marginalized groups to members of the community in a hands-on, engaging manner. Additionally, other programs in the series work to promote universal respect, acknowledgment and kindness in the context of themed observances. Click here to read more.
Dancing Through ToddlerTime: Challenging Families to Replicate the Experience
To launch a young reader, the library must inspire adults in their lives to actively engage with word play and books. ToddlerTime is a literacy experience enveloped by joyful singing, dancing and laughter. Click here to read more.
Author
Ellen Book
Category
Children and Youth
Dancing Through ToddlerTime: Challenging Families to Replicate the Experience
Category: Children and Youth
Author: Ellen Book
To launch a young reader, the library must inspire adults in their lives to actively engage with word play and books. ToddlerTime is a literacy experience enveloped by joyful singing, dancing and laughter. Click here to read more.
The Miami-Dade Public Library System's Mogul Maker Expo
The Mogul Maker Expo program aims to provide entrepreneurs and existing business owners with the ongoing support they need to research, launch and grow their businesses, while also promoting economic development within a supportive business community. Click here to read more.
Author
Marlon Moore
Category
Community and Economic Development
The Miami-Dade Public Library System's Mogul Maker Expo
Category: Community and Economic Development
Author: Marlon Moore
The Mogul Maker Expo program aims to provide entrepreneurs and existing business owners with the ongoing support they need to research, launch and grow their businesses, while also promoting economic development within a supportive business community. Click here to read more.
To support vulnerable populations in Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Dade Public Library System developed and implemented the Community ID Program to identify what services a Community ID could be used for and partnered with a community non-profit to manage the Program to issue the IDs in Miami-Dade County. Click here to read more.
Author
Lydia Lopez
Category
Human Services
Category: Human Services
Author: Lydia Lopez
To support vulnerable populations in Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Dade Public Library System developed and implemented the Community ID Program to identify what services a Community ID could be used for and partnered with a community non-profit to manage the Program to issue the IDs in Miami-Dade County. Click here to read more.
Hammocks Community Park Outreach
The Kendale Lakes Branch Library has found an effective way to re-establish a relationship with the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department post-pandemic by providing outreach opportunities to the Hammocks Community Park. Click here to read more.
Authors
Kemi Odulana
Cynthia Saavedra
Category
Libraries
Hammocks Community Park Outreach
Category: Libraries
Authors: Kemi Odulana & Cynthia Saavedra
The Kendale Lakes Branch Library has found an effective way to re-establish a relationship with the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department post-pandemic by providing outreach opportunities to the Hammocks Community Park. Click here to read more.
Intergenerational Coloring Club
The Miami-Dade Public Library System's Intergenerational Coloring Club is a program that bridges the social gap between age groups through interactive activities such as coloring and group discussions. The club began in January 2022 at the Lakes of the Meadow Branch Library and its members meet every Saturday morning. Click here to read more.
Author
Fatima Centeno
Category
Libraries
Intergenerational Coloring Club
Category: Libraries
Author: Fatima Centeno
The Miami-Dade Public Library System's Intergenerational Coloring Club is a program that bridges the social gap between age groups through interactive activities such as coloring and group discussions. The club began in January 2022 at the Lakes of the Meadow Branch Library and its members meet every Saturday morning. Click here to read more.
Kendale Lakes Branch Chess Club
The Chess Club at Kendale Lakes Branch Library is intended for all ages. It is a program that welcomes everyone and helps to enhance participants’ strategizing and critical thinking skills. Twice a week, the program is offered, both online and in-person. Click here to read more.
Author
Katherine Moore
Category
Libraries
Kendale Lakes Branch Chess Club
Category: Libraries
Authors: Katherine Moore
The Chess Club at Kendale Lakes Branch Library is intended for all ages. It is a program that welcomes everyone and helps to enhance participants’ strategizing and critical thinking skills. Twice a week, the program is offered, both online and in-person. Click here to read more.
Living with Low Vision Seminar
The Living with Low Vision Seminar includes speakers from various organizations who serve Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties such as The Alliance for Aging, The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, the Division of Blind Services and The University of Miami Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the American Diabetes Association. Click here to read more.
Authors
Doris Albury
Felicia Brown
Jennifer Shipley
Category
Libraries
Living with Low Vision Seminar
Category: Libraries
Authors: Doris Albury, Felicia Brown & Jennifer Shipley
The Living with Low Vision Seminar includes speakers from various organizations who serve Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties such as The Alliance for Aging, The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, the Division of Blind Services and The University of Miami Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the American Diabetes Association. Click here to read more.
Researching one’s family history can be tremendously challenging work when the available resources are limited. To better serve the public for such requests, the Library launched the Miami-Dade Obituary Index that would allow one to find information on over 915,000 persons who died in the Miami-Dade county area from 1896 to 2008. Click here to read more.
Author
Stephanie Garcia
Category
Libraries
Category: Libraries
Author: Stephanie Garcia
Researching one’s family history can be tremendously challenging work when the available resources are limited. To better serve the public for such requests, the Library launched the Miami-Dade Obituary Index that would allow one to find information on over 915,000 persons who died in the Miami-Dade county area from 1896 to 2008. Click here to read more.
The Miami-Dade Public Library System's NASA @ My Library is space science-themed programming developed as a three-part series supported by a small grant to promote awareness of the launch of and discoveries by the James Webb telescope in late 2021. Click here to read more.
Authors
Janelle Gonzalez
Athy Fitos
Gina Menge
Category
Libraries
Category: Libraries
Authors: Janelle Gonzalez, Athy Fitos & Gina Menge
The Miami-Dade Public Library System's NASA @ My Library is space science-themed programming developed as a three-part series supported by a small grant to promote awareness of the launch of and discoveries by the James Webb telescope in late 2021. Click here to read more.
The STEAM-off in the Garden program was launched in November 2021 to provide safe programming for children with adequate social distancing. In this program series, staff aim to provide fun and educational programs outside the library building. Click here to read more.
Authors
Cynthia Saavedra
Kemi Odulana
Category
Libraries
Category: Libraries
Authors: Cynthia Saavedra & Kemi Odulana
The STEAM-off in the Garden program was launched in November 2021 to provide safe programming for children with adequate social distancing. In this program series, staff aim to provide fun and educational programs outside the library building. Click here to read more.
Story Extravaganza: An Inclusive Multi-Sensory Event for Children of All Abilities
In December 2022, Miami-Dade Public Library System partnered with the Miami-Dade Community Action and Human Services Department and the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind to present an inclusive Story Extravaganza for children of all abilities. Click here to read more.
Authors
Enrique Cordero
Jennifer Shipley
Category
Libraries
Story Extravaganza: An Inclusive Multi-Sensory Event for Children of All Abilities
Category: Libraries
Authors: Enrique Cordero & Jennifer Shipley
Voices from Florida, a monthly program hosted and curated by the Special Collections division of the Miami-Dade Public Library System, focuses on highlighting unique stories about Florida's history, culture, literature and communities. Click here to read more.
Storytelling Troupe: Engaging Communities with History, Culture and Humor
The Miami-Dade Public Library System Storytelling Troupe was established in 2019 to bring history, culture and education into our local neighborhoods in a fun and exciting way. Eight staff met to discuss which cultural themes they would like to focus on and began practicing stories and brainstorming ways to engage local audiences. Click here to read more.
Authors
Jennifer Shipley
Bryant Capley
Category
Libraries
Storytelling Troupe: Engaging Communities with History, Culture and Humor
Category: Libraries
Authors: Jennifer Shipley & Bryant Capley
The Miami-Dade Public Library System Storytelling Troupe was established in 2019 to bring history, culture and education into our local neighborhoods in a fun and exciting way. Eight staff met to discuss which cultural themes they would like to focus on and began practicing stories and brainstorming ways to engage local audiences. Click here to read more.
Writing Workshop for Tweens and Teens
Palmetto Bay Branch Library of the Miami-Dade Public Library System is conducting an ongoing program, Writing Workshop for Tweens and Teens, to connect youth with reading from a position of being in the driver’s seat by creating their own stories. Click here to read more.
Authors
Jessica Noble
Yirca Salazar
Category
Libraries
Writing Workshop for Tweens and Teens
Category: Libraries
Authors: Jessica Noble & Yirca Salazar
Palmetto Bay Branch Library of the Miami-Dade Public Library System is conducting an ongoing program, Writing Workshop for Tweens and Teens, to connect youth with reading from a position of being in the driver’s seat by creating their own stories. Click here to read more.