The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), part of the Library of Congress, presented awards to libraries in Seattle and Virginia Beach for outstanding service to the blind and physically handicapped communities June 18.

West Seattle resident, Danielle H. Miller, Program Manager, Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) in Seattle, accepted the Network Library of the Year Award. The annual award, in its sixth year, carries a $1,000 cash prize. NLS presented the awards at a luncheon ceremony in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

According to the Library of Congress website:

Miller said "During the past year, we’ve managed to expand our services in creative ways despite economic difficulties and funding cuts. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished and grateful to be recognized for it...Receiving the Network Library of the Year Award means so much to all of us—staff, volunteers and patrons. Everything we do here is really a collective effort."

The first NLS network library to produce its own downloadable digital talking book system, WTBBL circulated 397,077 items to 10,236 eligible individuals throughout the state of Washington in 2009. The library gained 1,401 new patrons that year.

WTBBL patrons enthusiastically demonstrated their appreciation for the library’s services through letters of thanks and financial donations of nearly $125,000 in 2009. The funding helped to support a variety of programs, including a radio reading service that WTBBL broadcasts from its studio and makes available in podcast form through its website. In 2009, the library opened its first exhibition of patron-created art, establishing an annual art show.

Miller was joined at the luncheon ceremony by Washington State Librarian Jan Walsh and Patron Advisory Council Chairperson Sue Ammeter.