Each year, the Butler Children’s Literature Center is proud to offer one aspiring youth librarian additional supports during their MLIS journey. In addition to a financial award. the Butler Scholar is matched with a professional mentor and works with the Butler Center curator on events and the creation of a tool to support other youth librarians.

Kiara Lyons began her career as an English teacher, then worked in college access with underrepresented communities before making her way into library programming. Through her work in libraries, she hopes to create opportunities for people to engage in programming that is representative of the community and that celebrates diverse identities.

For more information about the award or to make a donation to the scholarship fund, please contact the Butler Children’s Literature Center at butler@dom.edu.