Broadwater Elementary School’s librarian Marla Unruh is the second-ever recipient of the Montana Library Association’s Alma Smith Jacobs Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award.
Unruh said she was very surprised to receive the award and joked that “It’s a lot of attention for someone who spends their day in the basement” working in the school library.
The award founded in 2022 is named for the pioneering Great Falls librarian who became the first woman and first African American to serve as Montana’s State Librarian in 1973. Each year, a library, group or person is recognized for their efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in library services in Montana. Ken Robison, a Montana historian, was the first to receive the award in 2022.
Unruh touched on the air of politics suddenly spotlighting many librarians across the country.
