Each year the British Columbia Library Association invites the library community to nominate individuals and organizations for awards recognizing outstanding work in libraries throughout the province.
Nominations for the 2026 BCLA Awards are now open, and will be accepted until Monday, March 2, 2026 at 11:59pm PST.
Winners will be announced at the Awards Lunch held on April 24 at the BC Library Conference. They will receive a parchment certificate in an award folder and BCLA will make a $100 donation to the charity of the award recipient’s choice (can be any non-profit or charity, including their library).
Awards decided by the BCLA Board Awards Committee
The BCLA Building Better Communities Award Winner
This award recognizes an individual or organization responsible for increasing the relevancy and impact of library service through partnership, collaboration, and building trust where little has previously existed.
BCLA Eureka Award
This award is given to an individual or organization that has created an innovative approach to address a barrier, solve a problem, provide a powerful new insight, or introduce an original idea in the library field. This is an award for thinkers, analysers, innovators, dreamers, and doers.
Awards decided by Sections and Interest Groups
The BC Academic Libraries Section (BCALS) Outstanding Contribution Award
This award recognizes to an individual who works in an academic library (or team of academic library personnel) whose professional achievements have made a real difference to students, faculty, or colleagues in British Columbia.
BCCATS J. McRee Elrod Leadership Award
This award recognizes an individual or unit working in technical services that has demonstrated excellence and/or made a difference to users and colleagues in British Columbia in the area of technical services.
The Young Adult and Children’s Services (YAACS) Section Award
This award recognizes librarians, library technicians, teacher-librarians and others who have, as individuals or teams, demonstrated exceptional dedication and service in children’s or teen library services.
Please help us recognize and celebrate the good work happening in libraries!
Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Rina Hadziev, BCLA Executive Director