William Kaye Lamb portrait about 1948. Credit Canadian Library Association.

Sponsored by the Ex Libris Association (ELA) and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques (CFLA/FCAB).

This award is given in honour of William Kaye Lamb (1904 – 1999), the first National Librarian of Canada. Dr. Lamb was also the Dominion Archivist and an eminent historian.

There are biographies for William K. Lamb at Wikipedia and the Ex Libris biography.

The portrait shows William Kaye Lamb when he was President of the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques in 1947–1948.

This award recognizes a library that has developed an ongoing service, program, or procedure of benefit to seniors and/or a design and organization of buildings or facilities that improve access and encourage use by seniors. The award will be presented biennially when merited.

Any Canadian public, postsecondary, or special library is eligible for this award.

To notify ELA of your intention to submit, use the subject line “W. Kaye Lamb Award intention to submit 2023” including your library name or acronym to WKLAward@cfla-fcab.ca (select or right click to copy email address).

Completed applications must be submitted by Monday, October 2, 2023. Use the subject line “W. Kaye Lamb Award Application 2023” including your library name or acronym to WKLAward@cfla-fcab.ca (select or right click to copy email address).

Use the above email to request further information about the award or application process, adding “inquiry” to the subject line.

Please provide:

1. Name of the library.
2. A statement of the service or facility of benefit to the senior population served by the library.
3. Descriptive material, such as photographs, promotional or advertising materials used, articles or news items published may be included with the application to indicate the ongoing success of the project.
4. The application might include architectural drawings, details of the equipment used, and an outline of the effect on staffing and budget
5. The name of a contact person, telephone number, fax, e-mail, etc.

A committee of Ex Libris members review the submissions and make a recommendation for approval. The winner(s) will also be announced in ELAN (the Ex Libris Association Newsletter), listservs, the ELA website, and social media.

A representative from Ex Libris will present a suitably mounted framed certificate and a monetary award of $500.

Information regarding the award is also available at the CanadianFederation of Library Associations / Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques website at: https://cfla-fcab.ca/en/programs/w-kaye-lamb-award/ .

View a list of Past Winners.