Homewood resident Virginia Bugg has been recognized with the 2022 Library Champion Award from the Jefferson County Public Library Association.
The award is given to an individual or organization that has made a sig- nificant contribution to libraries and/or librarianship in Jefferson County.
Bugg was recognized for her support as a Friends of the Homewood Public Library volunteer and library board member. She has volunteered with the friends group for more than a decade, including as president from 2012 to 2016.
She was appointed to the board by the Homewood City Council in 2017 and reappointed in 2021. The five members of the board make up the governing and policymaking body of the library.
Deborah Fout, former library director, nominated Bugg for the award.
“Mrs. Bugg is our library champion,” Fout wrote. “She works with the friends to raise funds for the library. She works with the board to govern the library. Mrs. Bugg always has the best interest of the library at heart and is very thoughtful, thorough and fair in her decisions. Mrs. Bugg is an asset to the Homewood Public Library.”
At the virtual award ceremony April 12, Bugg discussed her love of libraries in her acceptance speech.
“The first public library I remember was a beautiful little wooden building, a former church. Our Homewood library building is a former church. That seems appropriate to me. I have always thought of libraries as holy places because the freedom of expression through good books is a holy thing to me, and public libraries help preserve that freedom. An excellent library like the Homewood Public Library helps define and hold together our community. It’s an honor to help support it.”