Nancy Brockman, the Gulf County Coordinator for the Northwest Regional Library System (NWRLS), was named the Outstanding New Librarian of the Year at the recent Florida Library Association annual conference in Orlando, Florida.



The Outstanding New Librarian Award recognizes a Florida librarian who is new to the profession; has made significant contributions to their library and librarianship; and who demonstrates potential for professional development. NWRLS consists of eight location in Bay, Gulf, and Liberty Counties.
 

Library Director Robin Shader said, "Nancy demonstrates a commitment to offering the very best library service possible and uses her knowledge and creativity to move the library and the community forward. She is an outstanding new librarian!"

In her position as Gulf County Coordinator, Nancy is responsible for activities in both Gulf County branches of the library system. She is the Branch Manager for the Corinne Costin Gibson Memorial Public Library in Port St. Joe and supervises the branch manager for the Charles Whitehead Public Library in Wewahitchka. Additionally, Nancy is the Serials Librarian for the library system, coordinating subscriptions for all libraries and managing the Zinio downloadable magazines project.

One of Nancy's strengths is that she considers the needs of the community and is able to rally her team of staff and volunteers to develop innovative ways to meet these needs. There is a need for increased technology training in Gulf County, so Nancy wrote and was awarded an Innovation Grant by the Panhandle Library Access Network for over $8,800 which will allow Gulf County Libraries to buy laptops, iPads, and projectors for various education and community outreach programs. Programs will include "animation station" workshops, where teens will use iPads to create animated films. Plans include a Teen Film Festival to showcase the projects created using this equipment.

Nancy takes initiative and strives to increase her knowledge and skills. She asks how she can improve and pursues professional development opportunities. Since she became a librarian within NWRLS, she has attended a Public Library Association conference, several regional conferences and workshops and many webinars. She taught a class on Zinio downloadable magazines during our annual staff training day. She has joined the Florida Library Association and is active in committee work. She was accepted into the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute and has been attending monthly sessions since October 2014.

Nancy obtained her Master of Library and Information Studies degree from Florida State University in August of 2012. Nancy's first professional position after graduation was as a Librarian I with NWRLS at the Bay County Public Library, beginning October 1, 2013. She was promoted to her current position on July 7, 2014.

Congratulations, Nancy!