{"id":135839,"date":"2026-03-11T21:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/135839\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T21:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:56:12","slug":"awards-celebrate-support-contributions-to-berks-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/135839\/","title":{"rendered":"Awards celebrate support, contributions to Berks libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Berks County Public Libraries honored leadership and service excellence during its 23rd Annual Awards Celebration recognizing individuals and organizations for their support of and contributions to area libraries.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony\u2019s top honor, the Dreisbach Award for Exemplary Service, went to the volunteers who organize and stage the Berks Book Bonanza.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Judy Ellsworth and Sherry Davis of Berks Book Bonanza accept the Berks County Public Libraries' Dreisbach Award for Exemplary Service from Advisory Board member Mary Ellen Wells. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\" width=\"1800\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773266170_55_REG-L-libraries-01.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"4258676\" \/>Judy Ellsworth and Sherry Davis of Berks Book Bonanza accept the Berks County Public Libraries\u2019 Dreisbach Award for Exemplary Service from Advisory Board member Mary Ellen Wells. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)<\/p>\n<p>Presented March 4 at the Library System headquarters in Leesport, the event recognized individuals and organizations for their support and contributions to public libraries in Berks County.<\/p>\n<p>Members of the library community nominated individuals, groups, or events that demonstrated outstanding commitment or service to their library and patrons. The Berks County Public Libraries Advisory Board considered nominations from 2025 and announced the category winners during the ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Distinguished guests at this year\u2019s event included Rep. Jacklyn Rusnock, Rep. Eric Weaknecht, and Steve Howe, constituent specialist to Sen. Scott Martin.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Rep. Jacklyn Rusnock offers opening remarks to a crowd of 70 during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\" width=\"1368\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-01.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"4310561\" \/>Rep. Jacklyn Rusnock offers opening remarks to a crowd of 70 during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Rusnock offered opening remarks to the crowd of 70 attendees: \u201cLibraries are truly community hubs, and they are welcoming, supportive environments that strengthen the fabric of our neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Howe later presented a certificate to Carol Donahue, director of Village Library of Morgantown, for her win of the Outstanding Library Director Award. Donahue received a certificate from the Office of Sen. Scott Martin.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Director of the Village Library of Morgantown Carol Donahue won Outstanding Library Director and received acertificate from the Office of Sen. Scott Martin during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. She is pictured with Steve Howe, constituent specialist to Sen. Martin. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\" width=\"1326\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-03.jpg\" \/>Director of the Village Library of Morgantown Carol Donahue won Outstanding Library Director and received a<br \/>\ncertificate from the Office of Sen. Scott Martin during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. She is pictured with Steve Howe, constituent specialist to Sen. Martin. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amber Hadley, youth services coordinator for the Brandywine Community Library,...\" class=\"size-article_inline\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-06.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Amber Hadley, youth services coordinator for the Brandywine Community Library, and son Zach pose with the Outstanding Teen Program award for the library\u2019s Youth-Led Humanities Grant program (Teen Reading Lounge) during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Leesport Mayor David Reimer Sr. celebrates his win of Outstanding...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-02.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-02.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Leesport Mayor David Reimer Sr. celebrates his win of Outstanding Elected Official with Rep. Eric Weaknecht during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kutztown Community Library Youth Coordinator Tara Sanders, left, accepted the...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-05.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-05.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Kutztown Community Library Youth Coordinator Tara Sanders, left, accepted the Outstanding Fundraising Effort Award and Trustee Marsha Olivia, right, received the Outstanding Library<br \/>\nVolunteer Award during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Members of the Hamburg Grange accept the Outstanding Community Organization...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-08.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-08.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Members of the Hamburg Grange accept the Outstanding Community Organization Award during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Castaneda\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Mexican Restaurant in Robesonia was named the Outstanding Local...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-07.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-BERKSlibAwards-07.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Castaneda\u2019s Mexican Restaurant in Robesonia was named the Outstanding Local Business for 2025 during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\n<\/p>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 5<\/p>\n<p>Amber Hadley, youth services coordinator for the Brandywine Community Library, and son Zach pose with the Outstanding Teen Program award for the library\u2019s Youth-Led Humanities Grant program (Teen Reading Lounge) during the 23rd Annual Berks County Public Libraries Awards Celebration on March 4. (Courtesy of Berks County Public Libraries)\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Other awards:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Chet Hagan Memorial Public Relations Award, Boyertown Community Library<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Fundraising Effort, 75th anniversary, Kutztown Community Library<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Library Volunteer, Marsha Olivia, Kutztown Community Library<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Library Staff Member, Kellee Wood, Bethel-Tulpehocken Public Library<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Elected Official, Leesport Mayor David Reimer Sr.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Community Organization, Hamburg Grange<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Teen Program, Youth-Led Humanities Grant (Teen Reading Lounge), Brandywine Community Library<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Adult Program, Bestsellers &amp; Baked Goods, Bethel-Tulpehocken<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Local Business, Castaneda\u2019s Mexican Restaurant, Robesonia<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Outstanding Youth Program, Children\u2019s 12 Days of Crafting, Reading Public Library<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Berks County Public Libraries honored leadership and service excellence during its 23rd Annual Awards Celebration recognizing individuals and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,2568,2569,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-135839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-patriot-item","tag-patriot-item-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}