John F. Szabo, City Librarian of Los Angeles, Named Librarian of the Year

Library Journal (LJ), a national trade publication serving librarians and library workers has named the City Librarian of Los Angeles and director of Los Angeles Public Library, John F. Szabo, as its 2025 “Librarian of the Year,” according to a press release.

In his 12 years as director of the 73-location Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), Szabo has expanded and deepened the library’s mission to connect with all corners of his adopted city. Through innovative programs - such as the Library Experience Office, which helps connect Angelenos with social services; Career Online High School, a free program that allows adults 19 and older to earn a high school diploma; and the buoyant L.A. Libros Book Festival, among many others - Szabo has aligned the library’s work with citywide priorities that include homelessness, serving immigrants, health, and literacy and has grown its partnerships to include hometown organizations from the zoo to the Dodgers.

The Librarian of the Year award, sponsored by Baker & Taylor, honors librarians for outstanding achievement and accomplishments reflecting the loftiest service goals of the library profession. These include free access to information for all, encouragement of reading, enhancement and expansion of library service to all areas and constituencies in the community, and strengthening the library’s role and position in the community. Szabo will be profiled in LJ’s January issue.

“John Szabo has taken his very genuine love of community to every library he has helmed,” said Lisa Peet, executive editor of Library Journal. “From his first role in a rural midwestern library serving 8,000 residents to Los Angeles, with its population of nearly four million spread out across 503 square miles, his priorities as a director have stayed much the same. John empowers LAPL’s 1,500 staff members to help drive innovation and take ownership of their work, centers the city’s history and many stories, and extends a hand to new Americans and residents in need. His compassion, curiosity and top-level strategic thinking combine to provide leadership – and librarianship – that exemplifies the best of the field.”

“John personifies all the qualities seen in the best library leaders,” said Aman Kochar, president and CEO of Baker & Taylor. “His unwavering commitment to his team, his community and the broader library industry has made him a mentor and friend to many. I cannot think of a more worthy honoree, and I look forward to celebrating John’s work and impact later this year.”

“The Library is lucky to have John F. Szabo,” says Valerie Lynne Shaw, president of the Board of Library Commissioners. “Thanks to John’s leadership, Angelenos rely on the Library to provide outstanding service, help them along their journey and provide lifelong learning.”

“I am both thrilled and humbled by this recognition that is only possible through the dedicated, life-changing work of the outstanding staff of the Los Angeles Public Library,” said Szabo. “Angelenos love their library, and we are incredibly fortunate to have their support. It is an honor to serve them.”

Information for this article was sourced from PR Newswire.