Department of Information Science Alumnus and Director of Libraries for Austin Public Libraries, Roosevelt Weeks, is awarded Librarian of the Year by the Texas Library Association at the Texas Library Association 2023 Annual Conference, held in Austin.

Roosevelt Weeks graduated from UNT’s Department of Information Science in 2014 with a Master of Science in Library Science. Since then, he has been providing leadership and service to the library community. Some of the highlights include service on the following boards and councils:

• The TLA Executive Board
• Vice Chair of the Urban Library Council
• University of North Texas College of Information Leadership Board
• The Waterloo Greenway Board of Directors
• The University of Texas Library System Advisory Council
• The Texas Book Festival Board of Advisors
• National Forum for Black Public Administrators
• Society for Human Resource Management

Initiatives that Roosevelt has been instrumental in include:

• Passing an ordinance to eliminate fines for late/overdue materials that have been returned, removing an economic barrier to library access.
• Expanding access to Austin Public Library materials for Central Texas students by moving to eliminate the non-resident fee for library cards.
• Improving technology, literacy and education, both inside and outside of the library in the past at Houston Public Library and now at Austin Public Libraries.

Read more about Roosevelt Weeks and this award