2011 Council of the Federation Literacy Award Honorable Mention - Allison Taylor McBryde

Allison Taylor McBryde has been selected to receive an Honourable Mention in recognition of her thirty year career, with the last twenty-five of those years as coordinator of Children's and Young Adult Services at the North Vancouver District Public Library. Throughout her career, she went above and beyond her regular duties as a librarian and university lecturer, and even though she is retiring this year, her influence and passion will continue to be felt by many in her community, including teacher-librarians, parents, teachers, authors, and of course, the children and youth for whom services are developed. Some of the literacy initiatives that Allison has organized and/or contributed to include Books for BC Babies, Red Cedar and Stellar Reader's Choice Awards, CLA Book of the Year Award, North Van School Library Advisory Committee, Summer Reading Club, and North Shore Community Literacy Task Force helping to link libraries, community, and the school district.

As a lifelong learner, Allison has continued to pursue university coursework and shares her knowledge through her natural leadership and mentoring of teachers and librarians. For example, Allison has developed and taught post-secondary courses at the universities of British Columbia and Alberta, written articles for newspapers and publications, offered professional development workshops that are invariably fully booked and organized events which celebrate books and reading. Allison has earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues due to the enthusiasm, expertise, and commitment that she brings to any group or literacy initiative, and it is apparent that she is respected, trusted, and loved by students, teachers, librarians, university colleagues, and authors alike. Allison’s legacy to literacy includes not only her significant contributions to the field of early literacy work in libraries, but also the lasting impact she’s made on a whole generation of younger children’s librarians. As stated by one of her colleagues, Allison “is the ultimate example of the difference that one librarian can make”. 

2010 Council of the Federation Literacy Award Honorable Mention - Annette Rogers

In 2002, Annette, her husband and three daughters moved to Canada and she began working for School District 5 – Southeast Kootenay as a Speech-Language Pathologist. It was then that Annette created Sound Connections, a multi-sensory literacy program for primary-aged children. The program was developed over many years and came about through the need for daily intervention in schools. Annette developed, trialed and changed resources based on ongoing program evaluation in schools. Data collection for School District 5, for the Network of Performance Based Schools and for the Ministry of Education has continued each year from 2004.

Annette has a passionate belief that all children can succeed as learners and have the right to totally fulfil their potential as valued individuals. This attitude combined with her skills and knowledge in Speech Language Pathology has enriched the lives of countless children in School District 5.