Virginia Library Association 2026 Award Winners
The Awards & Recognition Committee of the Virginia Library Association has selected winners for the 2026 association awards. Library workers and library project teams from academic, public, and special libraries across the Commonwealth are honored for their exemplary contributions to their communities and profession in 2025. The winners are:
- Academic Innovator Award: Jeff Prater, Northern Virginia Community College
- Advocacy Award: Citizens for Cherrydale Library, Arlington Public Library
- Academic Librarian of the Year: KT Vaughan, Washington and Lee University
- Donna G. Cote Public Librarian of the Year: Candice Cheshire, Newport News Public Library
- Friends of the Library Award: Friends of the Staunton Library, Staunton Public Library
- Librarian of Color Forum Award: Diamond Chavis-Waller, Suffolk Public Library
- Outstanding Professional Associates Award (Academic): Rebecca Arm, George Mason University
- Outstanding Professional Associates Award (Public): Jeremy Hanes, Suffolk Public Library
- Public Library Innovator Award: Botetourt County Libraries
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Trustee Library Award: Gail Atkins, Henrico Public Library
- Up and Comer Award (Academic): Rachel Hogan, William & Mary
- Up and Comer Award (Public): Emma Daugherty, Suffolk Public Library
- Virginia Library of the Year: Announcement coming soon!
All Virginia Library Association award winners will be honored at the Awards Reception of the VLA Annual Conference at 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 18, 2026 at the Hilton Norfolk the Main in conjunction with the VLA Annual Conference. For details about each winner and their accomplishments, please view below.
Academic Innovator Award
Jeff Prater, Northern Virginia Community College. received the Academic Innovator Award for leading the development of NOVA Libraries’ innovative micro-credential program, an accessible and scalable approach to information literacy instruction that significantly increased student engagement.
 Jeff Prater is the Collection Development and Open Education Resources (OER) Librarian at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) Annandale Campus, where he advances affordable learning initiatives and leads institutional resource strategy. Jeff is a first-generation college student and Eagle Scout. He earned a Master of Science in Library Science, a Master of Education in Instructional Design, a Master of Arts in Teaching, a Graduate Certificate in Online Education, and a BA in History. Jeff serves on the Open and Affordable Course Content Committee for The Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) and heads the NOVA Libraries Micro-Credential Task Force. His previous leadership includes serving as Director of Library Services at Virginia International University, where he established faculty OER training, created comprehensive online guides, and consulted for the American International Accreditation Association of Schools and Colleges to launch an ISKME Hub supporting students across 14 countries. Jeff’s work focuses on integrating instructional design into academic libraries, information literacy, expanding textbook affordability, and leading progressive educational resource adoption through accessible collections. Jeff is an avid hiker, assisting with NOVA student hiking activities. In 2022, he completed a southbound Appalachian Trail hike. Jeff is an audio archivist regularly contributing to the Internet Archive.
Advocacy Award
Citizens for Cherrydale Library, Arlington Public Library, have received the Advocacy Award for their successful community campaign that preserved Arlington Public Library’s Cherrydale Library hours, staffing capacity, and services.
 Michael Gessel is president of the Citizens for Cherrydale Library, a grassroots advocacy group that supports, promotes, and preserves the Cherrydale Branch Library serving North Arlington, Virginia. The group was founded in 1998 by Greg and Suzanne Embree and Michael Gessel.
Gessel is Vice President, Federal Government Relations, for the Dayton Development Coalition, an economic development organization that serves the Dayton, Ohio, region. Previously, he was chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Tony P. Hall and a staff member of the House Rules Committee. He was also minority counsel of the Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House. His staff work resulted in the creation of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Centennial of Flight Commission, Department of Veterans Affairs National History Center, and National Aviation Heritage Area. Gessel’s writing has appeared in the “Outlook” section of the Washington Post as well as in the Los Angeles Times, on National Public Radio’s news and public affairs program, “All Things Considered” and in Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill. He is on the Board of Directors of The International Wizard of Oz Club, which promotes the work of writer L. Frank Baum. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Academic Librarian of the Year
KT Vaughan, Washington & Lee University, received the inaugural Academic Librarian of the Year Award for her 25 years of incredible service.
 With her varied experiences in the sciences, health sciences, scholarly communication, teaching, and management, KT brings an optimistic and inclusive perspective to the leadership of the Washington & Lee University Library. Her interests focus on asking questions about – and driving change in – the future of libraries. She is currently focused on building inclusive and equitable library environments for people with disabilities, scholarly and digital communication in resource-constrained contexts, and the recruitment and career advancement of library staff and faculty. Among her varied professional leadership roles, she served as the VLA President in 2021-22 and President of the Oberlin Group of Libraries in 2025-26. KT was appointed Hal F. and Barbra Buckner Higginbotham University Librarian at Washington & Lee University in 2020. In 2026 she is celebrating 25 years of librarianship for herself and 250 years of libraries at W&L!
Donna G. Cote Public Librarian of the Year
Candice Cheshire, Newport News Public Library, received the Donna G. Cote Public Librarian of the Year Award for transforming youth services at Newport News Public Library through creative, accessible programming and literacy initiatives.
 Candice Cheshire has worked in libraries since 2010, beginning her career as a library media assistant in a public high school. That experience inspired her to pursue a Master’s in Library Science, which she earned in 2014. For the past ten years, Candice has served as a Senior Youth Services Librarian with Newport News Public Library. During her tenure, she has had the opportunity to build her branch’s children’s services from the ground up, developing programs, services, and partnerships designed to connect children and families with their library and with one another. She has approached that work with creativity and a willingness to try new things, always learning from the community she serves. Candice is grateful for the children, families, colleagues, and community partners who have shaped her work over the years, and she is proud of what has been built together. She looks forward to continuing to create welcoming, engaging, and meaningful library experiences for young people and their families.
Friends of the Library Award
The Friends of the Staunton Library received the Friends of the Library Award for leading an outdoor renovation that enhanced accessibility to the library for the broader Staunton community.
 With roughly 200 members, the Friends of the Staunton Library provides volunteer support and raises funds that enhance the programming, technology, and collections of the Staunton Public Library. Originally founded in the mid-1950s, the Friends have spent sixty years advocating for and augmenting public library services.
Through memberships, annual book sales, and other fundraisers, the Friends have been able to sponsor monthly lunch concerts for thirty years, provide scholarships and professional development opportunities for SPL employees, and help offer a range of programs that were not otherwise funded through the library’s annual budget.
The Friends’ crowning achievement and gift to the library has been the complete renovation of the grounds to create a new library terrace for outdoor events and community use, set to open this fall. As a testament to their love of the Staunton community, the Friends of the Staunton Library became one of the first groups to sign up for the city’s relaunched Adopt-a-Spot program, sponsoring the streets around the library and cleaning up litter several times per year. The Friends’ stewardship for not only the library, but the city itself as a healthy, inviting place demonstrates their commitment to the community beyond the library walls.
Librarians of Color Forum Award
Diamond Chavis-Waller, Suffolk Public Library, received the Librarians of Color Forum Award for culturally responsive programming that celebrates Black history and identity, including Harlem Nights: A Jazz Social.
 Diamond has been in the library field since she was 18 working as a page, a circulation assistant, a programmer, and even a collections technician. In between that, she's worked in the service industry as almost every front of house staff position, modelled for students in visual arts at Virginia Peninsula Community College, and edited papers for college students on the side. She was part of the 2024 Virginia Library Leadership cohort and currently serves as a mentor for the 2026 VALLA cohort. She started in 2022 at Suffolk Public Library as the Community Learning Librarian, creating exciting classes and events that are out of the box and representative of the Suffolk community while working on strategic teams and goals to help make Suffolk a life-long learning and self-sufficient community. She hates writing bios cause she's not one to brag, but she is super excited to start her work in making a collection that benefits, inspires, encourages, and represents the amazing city that is Suffolk, VA. A Libra Sun, Cancer Moon, she enjoys vertical Chinese dramas, her two cats, spending time with her family, writing fanfiction, and the occasional K-Pop concert. She now currently serves as the Collections Strategy Assistant Manager at Suffolk Public Library.
Outstanding Professional Associates Award (Academic)
Rebecca “Becca” Arm, George Mason University Libraries, received the Academic Outstanding Professional Associates Award for expanding student centered collections that emphasized the value of graphic novels in academic library spaces.
 Rebecca Arm has worked at George Mason University Libraries since 2016. As the User & Collection Services Coordinator at Mason Square Library, she is responsible for resource sharing, stacks maintenance and technology support. She began her library career as a Special Collections and Archives student assistant at the University of Mary Washington where she earned her BA in Art History. She enjoys bringing her background in museum studies to designing displays for Mason Square Library, and her love of literature and comics to help develop the Recommended Reads and Graphic Novels collections. Outside of work, Becca competes in pub trivia, explores the DC area’s parks and museums, and reads while hanging out with her cat Misty.
Outstanding Professional Associates Award (Public)
Jeremy Hanes, Suffolk Public Library, received the Public Outstanding Professional Associates Award for their efforts in grant-writing, garnering over $375,000 in funding for the community.
 Jeremy Hanes is the Administrative Services Supervisor at Suffolk Public Library. A lifelong reader and former library child who picked up their first Stephen King book in a Friends sale, they first worked in a library as an undergraduate and then as a graduate student. He first started in public libraries in 2017 as a floater and at a neighborhood branch before joining Suffolk Public Library's Community Learning team in 2022. As a programmer, he helped run Storytime programs, designed and developed social-emotional learning (Little Humans, Big Feelings), and events around learning while having fun like Rainbow Families for LGBTQ+ adults and children in the area, and hands-on escape rooms and costumes (LARP with the Library) for fans of anime, video games, and pop culture. He started his current role in 2024 to help support Suffolk Public Library staff’s strategic priorities, expand its accessibility initiatives, and locate grants and funding for its goals. He helped launch the Virginia Public Library Directors Association grant support team for library professionals to network and share opportunities while applying for funding. When not at libraries, he enjoys visiting lighthouses with family, cooking, and exploring nature.
Public Library Innovator Award
Botetourt County Libraries received the Public Library Innovator Award for transforming the Collaborative Summer Library Program’s summer reading theme into an countywide storytelling experience that dramatically increased engagement. The collaborative effort was spearheaded by Caroline Kim, Botetourt County Libraries.
 Caroline Kim is a Library Assistant and manages the social media for Botetourt County Libraries, a rural public library system in Virginia. She holds an MFA in Children’s Writing from Hollins University and a B.A. in Political Economies of Industrialized Societies from UC Berkeley, and is also a children’s writer. Caroline draws on storytelling, creativity, humor, and her background in the arts to connect people with their library through short-form video and social media. Her work focuses on making library programs, literacy opportunities, and resources more visible and accessible to the community. She is passionate about children’s literature, representation, and finding creative ways for rural libraries to connect with the communities they serve.
Other recognized contributors include Jaime Duval, Rachel McEldowney, Chelsea Wood, Karen Luck, Anthony Saunders, Cheryl Wagner, Elizabeth Rathbone, Alana Lynch, Sandra Falls, Angela Veldhuizen, Jennifer Hannah, Rebekah Burnette, Connie Snavely, Sarah Rodgers, Audrey Clark, Cari Sangster, Cathy Ripley, Courtney Taylor, Brent Watts, Taylor Lunsford, Victor Morales, Steve Vest, and Julie Phillips.
Trustee Library Award
Gail Atkins received the Trustee Award for more than two decades of service to Henrico County Public Library.
 Gail Atkins has worked in the Richmond area as a real estate broker for over 40 years and received multiple accolades for her work in the field. For more than 20 years, Gail Atkins has made the time to serve Henrico County Public Library through the Library Advisory Board. Her initiatives, such as All Henrico Reads, have been pivotal to connecting the library with the greater Richmond area. Atkins is described as a defender of intellectual freedom, an advocate for the library's mission, and a constant supporter of front line staff.
In addition to being a licensed real estate broker, Gail is an Accredited Buyers’s Representative (ABR), Certified Site Agent (CSA), Graduate of the REALTORS Institute (GRI) and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Her dedication to service extends beyond her career and work in libraries, as evidenced by her work with FISH, a church-supported organization providing emergency assistance and her role in co- founding the yearly Florence Neal Cooper Smith 5K Walk for Sickle Cell.
The Up and Comer Award (Academic)
Rachel N. Hogan, William & Mary Libraries, received the Academic Up and Comer Award for building a digital humanities program that have expanded support for faculty and student research.
 Rachel N. Hogan is the Instruction and Research Librarian for the Arts and Digital Humanities at William & Mary Libraries. In this role, she has supported reference, information literacy instruction, research and campus-wide projects and learning related to digital humanities since 2023. She also serves as the Digital Humanities Project Lead for the Black Women’s Diaries Project which will be launching November 2026. She received her MS in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University in 2023 and a BA in English Literature from Pepperdine University in 2021. Her research focuses on digital pedagogy and digital humanities in the library, but she also enjoys bringing arts-based research and creative engagement into her librarianship practice. Outside of the library Rachel enjoys her weekly trivia team, theatre, reading, board games, and adventuring in new places.
The Up and Comer Award (Public)
Emma Daugherty, Suffolk Public Library, received the Public Up and Comer Award for innovative programming, including building workforce and justice system reentry programs and partnerships.
 Emma Daugherty has been working in the field of public libraries in a variety of paraprofessional roles since 2016. After beginning her public library journey in her hometown of Ripley, West Virginia, she went on to work for the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County in Ohio and Norfolk Public Library in Virginia. Since 2023, she has been part of the team at Suffolk Public Library in Virginia. First, as a non-librarian circulation supervisor in their Library Experience department, and, since December of 2024, as a Community Engagement Librarian, serving the wider Suffolk community outside the library walls.
Emma is an alumna of Bethany College in West Virginia (B.A. English, Writing & Language) and Kent State University in Ohio (M.L.I.S.). She loves everything about libraries, but has found a higher than ever level of library joy in Community Engagement these past two years through her work with organizational partnerships, food insecurity, community reading challenges, general outreach, and reentry and justice services. Emma lives in Chesapeake with her husband and their three cats.
Virginia Library of the Year
Announcement coming soon!
In order to celebrate the accomplishments of those who support and transform libraries throughout the Commonwealth, the Virginia Library Association, through the hard work of the Awards and Recognition Committee, offers a number of awards. Visit our VLA Awards page for more information about all of our awards. |
KT Vaughan’s accomplishments span nearly every facet of academic librarianship, from staff development to fundraising, programming, and community engagement. Among her most significant recent achievements was her leadership of a major special collections reading room renovation and rededication. Vaughan secured $1.35 million in funding for the project, coordinated collaboration among library staff, architects, contractors, and university partners, and guided the project through its successful reopening in October 2025. She has also worked to strengthen the library’s long-term infrastructure and services by securing funding for preservation, digital initiatives, and improvements to library spaces.
