Sabinet sponsors LIASA’s Librarian of the Year 2013 awards

High standards and dedication goes a long way for Free State Librarian!When you walk into the doors of the Lourier Park Public Library, in Bloemfontein, Free State, you are immediately welcomed by the warm and caring branch librarian, Ms Rina Jansen van Rensburg. Every year, LIASA (library and Information Association of South Africa) awards Librarians across the country the Librarian of the year award.Rina received 2nd runner up award for the year 2013 and R10 000 in prize money from Sabinet. When asked what she will do with the prize money she says “I would like to visit a number of libraries in the Western Cape to learn from them what they have done to become successful public libraries in their communities”.In her own time Ms Rina Jansen van Rensburg has adopted a nursery school, Reya Hola Day Care, in Lourier Park. Her main goal is to provide the best education to all the young minds it cares for. Reya Hola Day Care is the only nursery school in Lourier Park that does not have a permanent structure of bricks and mortar but is housed in a shack. Realising that while the staff are talented and dedicated to the children, they do not have the financial capacity to service all their educational needs.Sabinet salutes Rina and her fellow South African Librarians for their hard work, determination and innovative thinking. “We, at Sabinet, believe that through collaboration, we can turn ideas into action and Rina and her community projects, embodied this,” says Rosalind Hattingh, MD of Sabinet Limited.The judging criteria for Librarian of the Year Award are based on the professionalism, engagement, leadership and development, strategic thinking and implementation, innovations and advocacy, branding of the library profession by the librarians and their contribution to LIASA.