The following libraries have been nominated by peer jury as recipients of the 2008 Ontario Public Library Service Awards (PLSAs).

Note: The Public Library that is cited is the project lead, and can represent a number of partners and / or sponsors who contributed to the overall success of the project.

Minister’s Award for Innovation

Small Public Libraries Category

Russell Township Public Library: EMPORTE MOI! PICK-ME UP!

This project offers an extremely original and innovative way for the library and its support groups to encourage reading and promote Ontario authors by creating dynamic partnerships with local businesses and reaching out to residents wherever they are.

Toronto Public Library: Ontario Time Machine

The Ontario Time Machine website inspires Grade 7 and 8 students to leap into the pages of history and learn new skills via this showcase of Really Old Ontario Books, digitized and enlivened with page-turning technology plus historically-accurate image, text, sound and video notes. A partnership project of Toronto Public Library, Hamilton Public Library and Kingston Frontenac Public Library, the site makes innovative, new use of their collective resources, greatly extending access to the collections.

Angus Mowat Award of Excellence

Small Public Libraries Category

Manitouwadge Public Library: Fresh Starts

This project seeks to put the needs of its patrons first. With a very small budget in a town where it has seen change and budget cuts due to Mine closure and drops in population, the library developed more user friendly areas for people of all ages.

Burlington Public Library: Betty Blogger

Burlington Public Library’s (BPL) training team captivated the community by offering an online, self-directed, Web 2.0 summer school called, Better Blogger: a recipe for Web 2.0 training program. BPL directed more than 90 customers as they explored a variety of Web 2.0 applications with unprecedented success.

Kitchener Public Library: Parent Links to Literacy

Kitchener Public Library’s Parent Links to Literacy: Grand Valley Institute for Women Program is a program which identifies specific needs in the community and uses library resources in a creative way to address those needs. Library staff work in partnership with Correctional Service staff to give female inmates at the Grand Valley Institute for Women the opportunity to communicate and bond with their children through books, and to learn the importance of reading, literacy, and the public library.