Robert Barr wins American Library Association award

Congratulations to City and Borough of Juneau Library Director Robert Barr for receiving a national award for innovation and service. Robert has been named the 2021 winner of the American Library Association’s Ernest A. DiMattia Award for Innovation and Service to Community and Profession. The award, supported by the DiMattia Family, recognizes a librarian who demonstrates leadership in anticipating emerging trends in services, products, and technologies that will enhance the library’s position in its community. The winner also participates in the life of the community using membership in and volunteer service through a broad range of community organizations and projects.

Barr is being honored for his work as Planning Section Chief of the Emergency Operations Center, where he is leading efforts to stand up the City & Borough’s testing and vaccination efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This role involves extensive coordination with hospital and public health partners, city departments, assembly members, media, and the community at large. Due in large part to his efforts, the city’s mass vaccination clinics in have been a great success. Ann Symons, who nominated Mr. Barr, remarked, “Barr took all of the challenges in hand using the skills we value as librarians: access to information, diversity, equity and inclusion, the public good, privacy, and education and life-long learning.”

As library director, Barr provides leadership and direction for 40 staff members. He oversaw the $14M Valley Library construction project, contributing towards an on-time and on-budget completed project, including management of grant funding of both public and private sources. He took a leadership role in a statewide push to further intra-library cooperation, including assisting in developing the first of its kind statewide multi-type library catalog.

Symons notes that Barr “has been a respected member of city government since his arrival in 2013. Civic engagement has been part of his job both within the Juneau community and the Alaska library community.” Mr. Barr is also quite active in the profession, serving on ALA’s Committee on Legislation as well as the Digital Content Working Group. He is past president of the Alaska Library Association. One colleague said, “Robert has participated tirelessly in these volunteer roles and he consistently offers a calm, thoughtful presence to these efforts.”

The annual award, consisting of $5,000 and a citation of achievement, will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference in June 2021.

Members of the ALA Ernest A. DiMattia Award for Innovation and Service to Community and Profession Award Committee are: Chair Laurel Bliss, Fine Arts Librarian, San Diego State University, San Diego; Laura Gentry, Special Collections and Digital Initiatives Librarian, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama; April Moyo, Harris Campus Library Manager, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, North Carolina; Dr. Dorothy (Dottie) Persson, Iowa City, Iowa; Liz Philippi, School Program Coordinator, Texas State Library & Archives Commission, Austin, Texas.

More information about the Ernest A. DiMattia Award for Innovation and Service to Community and Profession is available at the ALA website.

March 31st, 2021|

Juneau Libraries, City Museum & Permit Center return to in-person service; pools & ice rink adjust operations

Due to the City and Borough of Juneau Emergency Operations Center lowering the overall community risk to Level 2 Moderate, some City and Borough of Juneau facilities are returning to in-person service:

  • Juneau Public Libraries: Mendenhall Valley Library and Douglas Library are opening to in-person service today, January 12, at noon, and will operate Monday – Friday, noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday & Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Downtown Library will remain curbside until January 19 due to ongoing interior construction work. Check juneau.org/library for more information.
  • Juneau-Douglas City Museum: The City Museum will be open to in-person service Thursday – Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call 586-3572 or email [email protected].
  • Permit Center: The Permit Center is opening to in-person service Wednesday, January 13, and will operate Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Those wishing to conduct business from a distance can still utilize services over the telephone or email. Pre-application conferences will also be available in person, though phone or Zoom remain options if desired. For information on permit applications, plan submittals, and pre-application meetings, visit the Community Development Department website or call 586-0770.
  • Juneau Pools: Augustus Brown Swimming Pool (AGB) & Dimond Park Aquatic Center (DPAC) will end reservations and resume drop-in recreation on January 19 with a maximum capacity of 50 for DPAC and 30 for AGB; visit juneaupools.org for the latest schedules. The fitness area, locker rooms, and showers are open. Sauna, hot tub, slides, and play features remain closed; no group programs or lessons will be offered.
  • Treadwell Ice Arena: Treadwell will have open skates every Friday 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. beginning January 22. Reservations are required. Guests are encouraged to bring their own skates and helmets, but skate rentals are available and included in admission. Maximum capacity on ice is 20; maximum capacity in the building is 50. For more information, go to juneau.org/parks-recreation/treadwell-arena.
  • Zach Gordon Youth Center: Zach Gordon Youth Center will allow a maximum capacity of 35. For more information, go to juneau.org/parks-recreation/zach-gordon/zgyc.
January 12th, 2021|

Juneau pools reopen on reservation system Oct. 26 & more info on Libraries curbside service

Due to the City and Borough of Juneau Emergency Operations Center raising the overall community risk to Level 3 High, Juneau Pools and Juneau Public Libraries have altered operations. Here are more details:

Juneau Pools

After temporarily closing this week, Augustus Brown Pool and Dimond Park Aquatic Center are reopening Monday, October 26, by reservation only with a maximum capacity of 20. Reservations for pool time are now open. An individual can reserve up to three 90-minute swim sessions per week. Make a reservation here.

The reservation requirement is part of the Juneau Pools COVID-19 Mitigation Plan, which aims to protect the health and wellbeing of pool patrons and staff alike. Guidelines include:

  • Lap lane reservations are limited to one patron per lane reservation
  • Locker rooms will remain open for public use, showers will continue to be available
  • Face coverings are required in common spaces (lobby, front desk, and locker rooms/restrooms)
  • Social distancing of at least 6 feet should be maintained between individuals and household groups when in the common spaces as well as the natatorium

Read the Juneau Pool FAQs and the Mitigation Plan for a schedule of time slots. For more information, visit juneaupools.org. Questions on making a reservation? Please call 586-2782 for Dimond Park and 586-5325 for Augustus Brown, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Juneau Public Libraries curbside service

All Juneau Public Library branches are temporarily closed, but the public can still access materials at any branch location through curbside pickup Monday-Friday, 12-6 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, 12-5 p.m. Here’s how:

  • Place a hold either online at juneau.org/library or by calling a the library directly
    • Downtown 586-5249
    • Douglas 364-2378
    • Mendenhall Valley 789-0125
  • During an available pickup time, go to the library and call the front desk upon arrival. Staff will arrange a no-contact pick-up.

Also note, though the libraries are temporarily closed, staff are still available to help with reference questions over the phone or email [email protected].

October 23rd, 2020|

Cluster grows to 30: Centennial Hall to open for isolation, Downtown Library temporarily closes

Due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases among individuals in Juneau who experience homelessness, the City and Borough of Juneau Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is standing up Centennial Hall this afternoon as an isolation facility. The EOC has also closed the Downtown Public Library to indoor service effective immediately; the library, instead, will provide curbside service for holds.

Last Friday, October 9, the EOC conducted 130 COVID-19 tests at Housing First, AWARE, and the Glory Hall. Results from that effort are starting to come in. At the moment, nine tests have come back positive. That brings the total number of cases associated with this vulnerable/unsheltered population cluster to 30, so far.

Centennial Hall will open this afternoon to serve as an isolation facility for individuals who’ve tested positive for COVID-19; the EOC will continue to use another facility for quarantine. To allow more medically trained staff to be onsite at Centennial Hall, Capital City Fire/Rescue’s sleep-off program will be moving from its current location at St. Vincent de Paul on Teal Street to the Miller Room at Centennial Hall.

The Downtown Public Library – a popular facility for individuals who experience homelessness – is temporarily closed to indoor service and is moving to a curbside delivery model for holds starting today. Library patrons interested in picking up hold items will be able to, upon arriving at the library parking garage, contact library staff to get their materials. More details, including hours of availability, can soon be found at juneau.org/library. The public can also contact the Downtown Library at [email protected] or 586-5249. The EOC will reopen the Downtown Library once the cluster is more fully identified and contained. The current operating hours for the Douglas Library and the Mendenhall Valley Public Library remain unchanged at this time.

For more information on the status of COVID-19 in Juneau, EOC staff and City Manager Rorie Watt will present a weekly update today, October 13, at 4 p.m. Watch the COVID-19 Community Update by joining the Zoom webinar https://juneau.zoom.us/j/98563085159, or calling 1-346-248-7799 or 1-669-900-6833 or 1-253-215-8782, webinar ID 985 6308 5159. CBJ staff will take questions from the media during the update.

October 13th, 2020|

City Museum receives Award for Excellence for ‘Echoes of War’ exhibit

The Juneau-Douglas City Museum has won Museums Alaska’s Award for Excellence in the Museum Field for their current exhibit, “Echoes of War: Unangax̂ Internment during WWII.” Congratulations to the museum staff, and the museum’s public, tribal, and private partners for receiving this great honor.

The exhibit was created in partnership with the Pribilof Islands communities of St. Paul and St. George, whose ancestors were forcibly interned at Funter Bay on Admiralty Island from 1942-1944. The exhibit documents the forced evacuation from the Pribilof Islands, the dehumanizing living conditions of the internment camps, the involuntary labor of the Unangax̂ men, and the U.S. military’s occupation and destruction of Aleut homes and villages. It also details the aid and comfort provided by the Tlingit people, the resilience of the Unangax̂ culture, and the attempt at restitution with the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The exhibit is part of a larger initiative being undertaken by a statewide collaborative group working to preserve the gravesites at Funter Bay and place interpretive panels there.

On Monday at 6:30 p.m., the museum is hosting a livestream panel conversation about the exhibit. All the panelists are current or former residents of St. Paul and have family members who were interned at Funter Bay. You can watch the discussion on Zoom or Facebook Live.

The public can view the award-winning exhibit “Echoes of War: Unangax̂ Internment during WWII” through summer 2021.

More information can be found at juneau.org/museum. Enjoy FREE admission at the museum for all of October thanks to Dan and Alma Harris.

October 9th, 2020|
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