2013 Medal Winners - Listen Online

Rancho Cucamonga Public Library

"You become an expert on deception..."

Jerry Piazza (L), a 64-year-old student in the adult literacy program at the Rancho Cucamonga Public Library, talks to Allen Callaci (R), the literacy librarian, about navigating life without the ability to read. They talk about his decision to go to tutoring and publicly reveal his struggle.

Length: 2:28. Read transcript (PDF)

Discovery Science Center

"And you’re not just helping the Center, it feels like the Center is helping you."

Annette Lee speaks with her volunteer coordinator, Rosie Lee, about being a volunteer team captain at the Discovery Science Center, and how it is serving her in college.

Length: 2:50. Read transcript (PDF)

Pierce County Public Library

"So I told the book mobile person that I was a little nervous about the mountain blowing up, and he pulled out a book on volcanoes and said, ‘You know, the more you know about something, the less you will fear it.’" 

Storm Reyes tells her son Jeremy Hagquist about how the Pierce County Public Library helped her leave migrant fieldwork when she was 15 years old and make a new life for herself. Storm went on to work for the Library for 32 years.

Length: 3:59. Read transcript (PDF)

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

"I can still picture her holding that bowl in her left arm, off the counter, and a big spoon in her right hand and beating the dough."  

Sue Olson, a board member for the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, describes her memories of her grandmother's kitchen to her husband, Ron Olson, and reflects on how her Czech heritage led her to become involved with the NCSML.

Length: 3:06. Read transcript (PDF)

Delta Blues Museum

"I remember one festival, my little granddaughter was given a little harmonica out on the street and she started playing it and started singing the blues!"

Charles Reid and Yvonne Stanford—longtime supporters of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi—talk about the history of the Delta Blues Museum, the impact the music had on the region, and the challenges currently facing the blues genre today.

Length: 2:05. Read transcript (PDF)

Boston Children's Museum

"I’ve always felt since I was a small child that I knew who I was... Grandfather played a very large part in that."  

Eleanor Spinney is the granddaughter of George H. Barton, one of the founders and first president of Boston Children’s Museum. In a conversation with the Museum's current President, Carole Charnow, recorded at Ms. Spinney's home, she remembered her grandfather, and the two reflected on how his spirit lives on at the museum 100 years later. Eleanor Spinney passed away a week after this interview took place. She was 93.

Length: 2:30. Read transcript (PDF)

Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County

"I’m not a nurse, I’m not a teacher but I’m kind of like combination of that. I’m helping people grow." 

Blossom Smith (R) , Manager of the Hyde Park Branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, talks with her niece, Raivynn (L) -- who works as a Library Services Assistant at at the Norwood Branch Library -- about her earliest memories of the library as a child, and the role the library has played over the years through a changing economy in Cincinnati.  

Length: 2:54. Read transcript (PDF)

Marshalltown Public Library

"Every Saturday, we would gather up our books from the week before, and we would go to the corner and we'd stand there and wait for the bus..."

"Book buddies" Judy Oswood (R) and Liz Adams (L) talk about early memories of the Marshalltown Public Library, their love of reading, and funny moments they've had with books.

Length: 3:12. Read transcript (PDF)

Waukegan Public Library

"I want children in the Latino community—or any community, for that matter—to have those opportunities, to know that it's okay, to know that they can make it."

Alejandra Dominguez talks to her husband Jorge Covarrubias about how she developed her love for books and her desire to give back to her community

Length: 2:31. Read transcript (PDF)

Columbus Museum of Art

"The great thing about the security department is that everyone is heavy into the arts and they're active..." 

Bryan Moss (L) and Kyle Lemstrom (R) reflect on their role as security supervisors and artists at the Columbus Museum of Art. They speak about their constant close proximity to the art, and their intimate knowledge of the CMA collection.

Length: 3:11. Read transcript (PDF)