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Five Utah County libraries were recently recognized with The Quality Library Designation Award. The award, which comes from the Utah State Library Division, is given to libraries that are providing exemplary service in their communities.

According to Rachel Cook, Utah State Library consultant, the Quality Library Award is given as part of the annual recertification process. Public libraries submit reports and data to indicate that their services are in accordance with State Library standards. The Quality Library Award is secondary to the recertification and is for libraries that are designated to have gone above and beyond.

“The purpose of this award is to recognize libraries that are doing exemplary work in their communities,” Cook said. “It is a chance for us to highlight transformational services that might not be obvious in the standard recertification process.”

Ten libraries in Utah received the award this year, including five in Utah County — the American Fork, Payson, Pleasant Grove, Santaquin and Springville libraries.

Cook said that some of the “above and beyond” work done by the five Utah County libraries include outreach at senior centers and city events, programming in response to community needs, exceeding staff recertification training requirements by 50%, participating in interlibrary loan programs and library sharing collaboratives and circulating non-traditional collections.

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Santaquin and Payson libraries work together to bring the best possible collections to patrons, according to Jennifer Wagner, director of the Santaquin Library.

“I try to have as much variety in both of our collections so that we can cover most needs of patrons. If we can’t, patrons can request items, and if possible, we try to get these items for them,” she said.

Wagner said she believes that libraries are the key to helping communities come together through information and recreation. “Libraries have and are evolving from quiet, hushed voices to places where children can play, teens can gather and everyone can have access to more items than ever before,” she said.

American Fork’s library personnel have made a strong effort to reach out to the Latino community during the past year, according to Casandria Crane, library director. “We now hold English classes four nights a week. We offer free use of the Mango language program that has courses designed to teach English. English learners make up the majority of Mango users in our library,” she said.

Additionally, American Fork’s library provides suicide prevention classes offered in Spanish. They also partner with local agencies to provide other classes such as web design, Alzheimer’s awareness and birthing classes, also in Spanish.

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This year, Springville’s library is celebrating a century since the first library in town was constructed, according to Dan Mickelson, library director.

“This has caused me to reflect on the numerous people who have contributed and developed the services that we enjoy today,” Mickelson said. “The building has changed, as has many of our services, as the library has adapted over the years. I am convinced that today we are making a positive impact for our city that will last decades into the future.”

Springville’s library, which averages over 1,000 visitors per day and hosts over 1,000 events each year, is celebrated in the community for their fun and informational social media content. Many followers tune into the library’s Facebook and Instagram accounts to be in the loop with new books, events and a sense of what’s going on at the library.

“The Quality Library award indicates that library staff have gone the extra mile. Going the extra mile means that library staff provide a level of service to the community that exceeds the standards developed by Utah public librarians and adopted by the State Library Board,” Cook said. “As a Quality Library, the institution is an active, involved, and vital part of the community. It provides resources and services beyond the four walls of the library with exemplary outreach to residents.”