Hartford Public Library is the recipient of the 2014 NewAlliance Foundation's "Hi-5" High Impact Literacy Award. (Left to right: Donna Haghighat, Hartford Public Library Chief Development Officer; Kim Healey, Executive Director, New Alliance Foundation; Matt Poland, Hartford Public Library CEO, Maryann Ott, Associate Director, New Alliance Foundation.)

On April 24, Connecticut's Hartford Public Library (HPL) was presented with the “Hi-5” High Impact Literacy Award of $25,000 from NewAlliance Foundation in recognition of HPL's dedication to providing access to literacy education to all Hartford residents. HPL consists of nine branches—and one downtown location—and receives more than 860,000 visits per year. "We were surprised and delighted on Friday when New Alliance announced this award," says HPL's CEO Matt Poland to SLJ. The award is granted annually to an organization in the NewAlliance Foundation service area that embodies the five attributes the NewAlliance Foundation wishes to honor in the field of literacy: vision, responsiveness, innovation, spirit, and results. This isn't the first time the Hartford library has been recognized for its leadership; in 2014, the library was chosen as a finalist for the National Medal from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and in 2013, it was a finalist for the Library Journal LibraryAware Community Award given to a library for “getting out to the community and demonstrating its value." Kim Healey, the executive director of NewAlliance Foundation says, “The programming provided by [HPL] makes a wide variety of learning and literacy skills available to all and is a truly invaluable service. We’re pleased to be able to support its continued innovation, vision, and results.” When asked what his plans are for the award money, Poland says:

"We haven't decided on how best to invest the award just yet, but it will likely be in our early childhood arena (birth to four), fast becoming a strategic area of focus for us. We are also working on our new school-library partnership that is in the pilot phase this semester and will roll out to the entire district next school year. May need some [money] there, too."