Queen's Honours Congratulations

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Anne Marley, from Bishopstoke in Eastleigh, is among those to have received special recognition in The Queen's Birthday Honours.

Anne retired from Hampshire County Council last December after ten years as the Head of Children's, Youth and School Library Services in Hampshire, and has worked in children's librarianship for more than 30 years. Anne has been honoured with an MBE.

She started her career in the north-west of England working with children in public and school libraries. In 1984 she moved to Hampshire, one of the largest library authorities in the country, and since then has been involved in a number of initiatives locally and nationally which have benefited children and adults alike.

Anne has been involved in a number of successful book fairs, festivals, awards ceremonies and campaigns, in the past working alongside major authors such as Roald Dahl and Dick King-Smith, as well as maintaining relationships with local booksellers and children's publishers.

One of her biggest achievements was her campaign to address the lack of books in St Lucia's libraries, sourcing more than 4,000 books as well as raising funds to buy more.

In 2003 Anne became Chair of the Youth Libraries Group, and also chaired the Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Judging Panel during that year. Most recently she has become a member of the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians National Committee.

Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, said:

"It is a tremendous achievement to receive such an Honour from The Queen and we are extremely proud that Anne has been recognised for her commitment and dedication to encouraging children to read. She is highly regarded nationally and internationally by colleagues and authors alike."

Commenting on her recognition, Anne said:

"This is such an honour and I am quite overwhelmed and very grateful that I was nominated. Of course, this award isn't just about me, throughout my career I worked as part of a team, and it is the wonderful dedicated staff in all areas of the library services who should share this with me, especially the professional children's and schools librarians who work tirelessly to get the right book, to the right reader, at the right time."

• Honours and Awards

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