SCRLC Spirit Award

Diane Capalongo, Administrative Services Manager, SCRLC

Diane has been with the council since October of 2007 and she is transitioning into a well-deserved retirement beginning in January. Over the past two decades, she has worked on projects big and small. Diane was the creator of the SCRLC News, she manages our website and has overseen multiple website transitions, she spearheaded our office move in 2021, and she has recently taken on all of the council’s scanning for digitization projects. She has kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes and she will be greatly missed!

SCRLC Spirit Award

Sarah Shank, Access Services Manager, Ithaca College Library

When we began the process of bringing BARC back to SCRLC, we reached out to Sarah as an ILL expert. She helped us create a system for processing ILL requests, she introduced us to Clio and set up a workable system. She trained SCRLC staff on how to process requests and she worked with us to train member libraries on how to submit requests. The BARC service is running smoothly and it is thanks to Sarah’s patience and expertise over the past year.

Excellence in Action Award

Hannah Benson, Reference and Access Services Librarian, Keuka College

Hannah joined the library during a challenging period of transition, but was quickly able to take on a wide range of responsibilities, including supervising approximately 25 student employees, taking charge of access services and interlibrary loan, reserves, cataloging, acquisitions, and more. She actively looks for ways to connect the library with students. She helped create a student survey with prizes, Reading Fair events, the Weeks of Welcome scavenger hunt, and a Passport to Wellness initiative. These activities have helped make the library a more engaged part of campus life. Hannah has accomplished all of this quickly but efficiently, with energy, flexibility, kindness, and a genuine commitment to students. She brought new ideas and enthusiasm to the library at a time when they were very much needed.

Defender of Intellectual Freedom Award

Carrie Blabac-Myers, Director for Academic, Community and Global Engagement, Binghamton University Libraries

As a member of Senate District 52, Carrie has served for four years on Senator Lea Webb's Education Issue Council, represented New York State at the 2025 American Library Association National Libraries Legislative Day, stumped for Binghamton’s most recent mayoral election and served as a Special Events Coordinator during Assembly District 123’s primary. 

When library professionals take on additional roles within their communities, they create a link between individuals and library principles like intellectual freedom. Carrie’s directed volunteerism ensures that every local politician and campaign that she works with considers library funding a constituent priority.

Prism Award for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice,

and Accessibility

Sasha Frizzell, Catalog/Metadata Librarian, Binghamton University Libraries (on behalf of the Cataloging and Metadata unit)

This award is for the formation of the Decolonizing Collections Committee and the creation of a Remediation of Harmful Language Statement in the Libraries' catalog. The committee conducts systematic reviews of harmful, outdated, and inaccurate language in the Libraries' catalog, with input from the public. As of September, they have reviewed 216 catalog records, updating 102 of them and making 185 individual changes — removing 105 outdated or inaccurate terms and replacing them with 80 more accurate, community-informed alternatives. These updates are made in OCLC, so each correction extends to libraries in the entire SUNY system and beyond.

This year's awards were presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Membership on Tuesday, October 20th at The Corning Museum of Glass. Thank you to all who attended!