Melissa Wilson Selected as the 2020 Tony B. Leisner Scholarship Recipient

The American Library Association (ALA) has selected Melissa Wilson of Holbrook, New York as the recipient of the 2020 Tony B. Leisner Scholarship.

The $3,000 scholarship, named for an active ALA member and former member of the ALA Council, is awarded to a library support staff member pursuing a master’s degree in library and information studies.  The scholarship was established with funds donated by Leisner.

Wilson has been a library user her entire life and a library employee for most of her adult life. She has worked in libraries as a page, a circulation clerk, an administrative assistant, and currently works as a librarian trainee at the Rogers Memorial Library (Southampton, NY). In her current role, Wilson works with the outreach program and provides services to nursing home patients and home-bound adults. Wilson said she is “passionate about serving the communities’ most vulnerable citizens through the library outreach program and hopes to expand outreach to the new adult demographic.” One reference commented that Wilson “demonstrates dedication to the profession and to helping others in providing library services to a vulnerable and growing population.” Another reference stated that Wilson “brought energy and enthusiasm to her job. She fully embraces technology and has taken on several library-wide projects. She is incredibly smart and brings a level of skill and a work ethic to her position as she displays top-notch customer service.”

Wilson attends the State University of New York (Buffalo).

For information on the ALA Scholarship program, visit our scholarship page.

The ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR) manages the ALA Scholarship Clearinghouse.