Congratulations are in order for the Littleton Public Library, the winner of the Public Library Association's Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award.

The award provides recognition and a $1,000 honorarium to a public library serving a population of 10,000 or less that demonstrates excellence of service to its community as exemplified by an overall service program or a special program of significant accomplishment. The formal presentation of the award will be made at the annual meeting of the American Library Association in Washington, D.C.

The library was honored with this prestigious award for the crucial role it played in the preparation of Littleton's application to be one of the New Hampshire Main Street Communities. In the spring of 1996, the state of New Hampshire created a Main Street Center. Modeled after the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street program, this system of downtown renewal depends on a broad-based community-driven effort to comprehensively address the needs of downtown renewal and sustainability. Since 1970, more than 1,300 communities have participated in Main Street programs, leading to over $7 billion invested in physical improvements, nearly 40,000 new businesses and over 142,000 new jobs.

During the application process, the Littleton Public Library became a sort of an "Application Center" and its resources were critical in providing the demographic data and historical information required. Librarian, Kathryn Taylor became totally involved in the entire application process. Her knowledge of grantsmanship and grant writing were vital to the application's development as she skillfully edited the documents.

In February 1997, Littleton was named as one of the first three Main Street communities in New Hampshire. The Littleton Public Library continued as a key supporter, compiling collections dealing with small business development, marketing and retailing. The library's role in the establishment and on-going work of Littleton Main Street demonstrates its commitment to support of civic organizations, cooperation in the identification of community needs, and provision of programs and services to meet those needs.