School of Information (iSchool) alumna Diana Haneski (MLIS ’98) has been honored with the “I Love My Librarian” award for going above and beyond as a librarian at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The American Library Association (ALA) honors 10 librarians each year who make a difference within their library community.

“I’ve always loved this award. It is so meaningful to me that my peers and those I work with thought enough of our library media center program to write about it and what I do to make it better,” Haneski said.

Following the tragic event at Stoneman Douglas on February 14, 2018, Haneski has been working to bring peace and mindfulness back within the school. “After the nightmare of the shootings, you need to realize it’s okay to have a good day and look for joy, and it took a while to get to this point after six years,” Haneski said. She works to actively encourage the students to understand the importance of self-care and wellness.

Haneski is accompanied by her therapy dog, River, who comes to school every day and serves as a constant companion to bring love and light to the library.

As a librarian, Haneski is there for the whole community and provides help with whatever they need. “For books and reading, for information literacy, using technology and applications, mindfulness and so much more,” Haneski said. “I look at myself as a mama in the library.” She feels strongly about working on building relationships, empowering the students so they are ready for after high school, and having the students help to make the program even better.

“It is rewarding because I feel strongly about the benefits of reading and when I can connect a reader with a book they love, it’s a good day,” Haneski said.

Haneski loves FSU and wanted to share that she hopes someday FSU will offer a local doctoral program that she can attend.