Bronx Library Center Chief Librarian Michael Alvarez Receives 2007 Maher Stern Award for Excellence in Community Service

2007 Maher Stern Award Ceremony Held on June 12th at 1:30 p.m. at the Bronx Library Center

June 12, 2007 - Michael Alvarez, Chief Librarian of The New York Public Library's Bronx Library Center, received the 2007 Maher Stern Award for Service Excellence at a ceremony held today at 1:30 p.m. at the Bronx Library Center, located at 310 East Kingsbridge Road. Allison Maher Stern, philanthropist and founder of the award; and David Ferriero, the Andrew W. Mellon Director of The New York Public Libraries, presented the prize.

Michael Alvarez has been an employee of The New York Public Library for over 22 years, starting as a page in the Webster Branch in Manhattan. In August 2005, Mr. Alvarez was named Chief Librarian of the Bronx Library Center, where he oversees a library that serves as an anchor for the other 34 branch libraries located in the Bronx. Under Mr. Alvarez’s leadership The Bronx Library Center offers the most extensive and comprehensive collections, services, and programming in the entire borough. As The New York Public Library’s first environmentally sustainable structure, The Bronx Library Center includes the largest and most in-depth reference and Spanish-language collection available to the public as well as a Center for Reading and Writing, the largest of its kind in the Bronx, that includes specialized collections in reading and writing in English for adults.

"Michael Alvarez's dedicated leadership and the exemplary work of his staff are key components to the remarkable success The Bronx Library Center has had during its first eighteen months of service," said President LeClerc. "We thank Allison Maher Stern and her husband Leonard for the generous support that enables us to recognize the contributions of this outstanding librarian."

Allison Maher Stern established the Award for Service Excellence with her husband, Leonard Stern, in 1993. The award encourages high standards in branch library service by honoring a librarian and his or her staff for excellence. The award includes a certificate inscribed with the name of the honored librarian and the branch library and a $1,000 award in support of the branch's operations.

"Michael Alvarez and his talented staff enrich the local community daily with their assistance, knowledge, and passion for their work," said Mrs. Stern. "We are thrilled to honor their outstanding efforts."

About the Bronx Library Center
Located at 310 East Kingsbridge Road in the heart of the borough's busy Fordham Road commercial district, the 78,000-square-foot Bronx Library Center replaced the nearby Fordham Library Center. The Center has become a heavily used community resource, more than doubling the number of patrons served by the former facility. With over 127 public access computers, 30 laptops available for use and carrying throughout the building, and over 200,000 books, periodicals, videos, audiotapes, CD-ROMs, and DVDs, the Center serves as an anchor for the borough's 35 branch libraries. Other services and programs available include a Center for Reading and Writing; a Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center; materials available in a wide variety of languages (Spanish, Chinese, Russian, French, Bengali, Korean, and Vietnamese); and individual counseling for higher education and career opportunities, including help in cover letter/resumé writing, and with college applications.

About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. It comprises four research centers - the Humanities and Social Science Library; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and the Science, Industry and Business Library - and 86 Branch Libraries in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items, including materials for the visually impaired. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, and English as a second language. The Library serves some 21 million patrons who come through its doors annually and another 15 million users internationally, who access collections and services through the NYPL website, www.nypl.org.

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Contact: Jon Pace at 212.592.7700 or Jonathan_Pace@nypl.org

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