BROWARD COUNTY, FL - Broward County Library has received two Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for innovative public library programs that help build healthy, safe and thriving communities. The award winning projects, Archiving the Black Web and Science Fair Festival, were honored for their successful efforts to, respectively, preserve Black culture online and promote science literacy for children/teens.

"We are thrilled to be nationally recognized for doing what we love best - providing valuable library resources to our customers and communities," says Broward County Library Director Allison Grubbs. "Winning two prestigious NACo Achievement Awards raises awareness not only of these two amazing library projects, but all of many other events, programs and services we offer." 

Broward County Library's two award-winning entries were:

Archiving the Black Web: A National Forum to Map the Landscape, Define the Issues, and Plan a Strategy for Documenting the Black Experience Online (ATBW), an initiative of Broward County's African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) focusing on creating strategies for collecting and preserving Black culture online. It was launched in 2020 in partnership with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Spelman College Archives, Auburn Avenue Research Library, Langston Hughes Community Library and the African Museum and Library at Oakland.

Broward County Library's Science Fair Festival (SFF), a free, annual event that provides Broward County students, parents and caregivers with guidance and resources to help make their school science fair project a winner. Open to all students ages 18 and under, it was launched in 2017 with a grant from NASA@ My Library. In 2020, when Broward County Library closed its physical buildings due to the threat of COVID-19, the event successfully transitioned from in-person to online, continuing virtually in 2021.

Nationally, NACo awards are given in 18 categories that reflect the vast, comprehensive services counties provide, including libraries, children and youth, criminal justice and public safety, county administration, information technology, health, civic engagement and more.