Uniondale, Riverhead, Sayville librarians recognized as 'outstanding' by State Senate
Like some unforeseen plot twist in an old O. Henry short story, three local librarians were surprised to learn they were among 11 recently honored statewide with the New York State Outstanding Librarian Award.
Announced last week by State Sen. Sean M. Ryan (D-Buffalo), chairman of the State Senate Libraries Committee, the honorees included Salamah Adjoua-Mullen, lead library media specialist at Northern Parkway Elementary School in Uniondale; Fabio Montella, Assistant Professor of library services at Suffolk Community College-Eastern Campus in Riverhead; and Jonathan Pryer, head of outreach services at Sayville Library.
"It felt wonderful to win," Adjoua-Mullen, of Baldwin, said, noting she was "deeply shocked" to learn she'd been named. "Someone once told me that we need people to make change in the world and sometimes we think of someone else as doing that change … But, sometimes, you have to be the one to be the change-maker. As a librarian I'm able to be in a position where I really get to have an influence on the education that the children here at Northern Parkway are getting."
Dr. Bilal Polson, principal at Northern Parkway, whose students are in kindergarten through fifth grade, said Adjoua-Mullen is "a tremendous resource because she allows our students to really be researchers the first time they interact with her.
"She understands," Polson said, "that she's learning from them, as well as she's teaching them."
Montella and Pryer also both expressed surprise over being named recipients last week — marking National Library Week.
"A good portion of society just thinks librarians hand out books," Montella, 42, of Holtsville, said. "But, being a librarian is so much more than that."
Pryer, 49, of Sayville, said, "Many times when you think of a library people think books. But we are now a community resource, a place that can help them change their lives. We're more than just books."
All three librarians said the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown moved their work to the forefront this past year.
In Sayville, that meant Pryer was no longer just the age-old promoter of the library as an information repository, but helped develop need-based community programs to help the homeless, provide meals for those facing food insecurity, help those in need access training materials to learn employment skills — even helping arrange for a wireless hot spot zone in the library parking lot for those without internet access.
For Montella and Adjoua-Mullen that not only meant helping students find reading and research material during the pandemic, it also meant helping them navigate technologies to access remote learning as well as helping faculty and staff research and prepare for remote learning.
"It's very important also that the library be a space that culture-sustains students, as well," Adjoua-Mullen said. "That they can be their authentic self when they come into the library space." That whether it's social justice issues, personal issues or just topics that might be of interest, she said, "They have the freedom to choose."
As Ryan said: "Libraries are pillars of our communities, and our librarians are dedicated public servants who work every day to keep all of us informed, educate young people, and ensure our libraries are centers of knowledge and learning."
With Debbie Egan-Chin
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
