Greenberg Wins Hugh Durbin Scholarship for Library Leadership

The INFOhio Governing Advisory Board is pleased to announce that Gail Greenberg, library media specialist at Collinwood High School, is the winner of the INFOhio 2014 Hugh Durbin Scholarship. To be considered for this award, Greenberg had to be selected to participate in this year's Library Leadership Ohio Institute, a 3-day program held in July that cultivates the leaders who will guide Ohio libraries into the twenty-first century. The Hugh Durbin Scholarship pays her tuition for the program.

“I am elated and truly honored,” said Greenberg. “It’s nice to be recognized for doing something I believe in.”

A literacy advocate, Greenberg has served at-risk youth in PreK-12. Her research into the effect of collaboration between librarians and teachers on literacy in urban elementary schools led to Cleveland schools receiving a U.S. Department of Education Improving Literacy Through School Libraries grant. She has twice received the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries Grant on behalf of Cleveland schools. Her interest and concern for serving multicultural students resulted in her being selected as one of 15 people in the country to travel to Mexico and Peru for a five-week long Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar. In addition, she generously shares what she’s learned with colleagues through professional development workshops and seminars.

“Hugh Durbin left us much too early due to illness,” said INFOhio Executive Director Theresa M. Fredericka. “We are fortunate to have people like Gail who can continue his work.”

Hugh Durbin, the Director of Library Media Services for the Columbus Public Schools for 19 years, spent his career providing quality library media programs and resources to everyone from preschoolers to incarcerated adults. He supported the professional growth of his colleagues through his leadership in the Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA) and by tirelessly advocating for school library media programs in numerous articles and presentations.

INFOhio, Ohio’s PreK-12 Digital Library, started in 1989 as a small group of like-minded school librarians looking for a way to cost effectively provide library software to schools. The group computerized its first two libraries in 1994. Today, INFOhio provides software and support to 80 percent of school districts—1.2 million students—and is one of the country’s largest library and information networks. INFOhio expanded its services to include providing a collection of online research databases to all preK-12 students and their families as well as classroom information technology support to educators.