Dana Thomas, the librarian at Cypress Lake Middle School in Fort Myers, was named a winner of the 2009 I Love My Librarian Award recognizing her as one of America's Top 10 librarians of the year.

This year more than 3,200 library users nationwide nominated a librarian for the commendation.

The award was created to recognize how important and vital libraries and librarians are to their communities and all of the people they help. The award, which began as The New York Times Librarian Awards in 2001, is now a collaborative program of Carnegie Corporation of New York, The New York Times and the American Library Association.

In her years at Cypress Lake Middle, Thomas has organized several activities for students. From having voting booths set up in 2008 so students could "vote" in the U.S. Presidential election and vote for their favorite author to working with the Holocaust Museum of Napes to bring an authentic boxcar used to transport individuals during the Holocaust to coordinating the One Book One School program, she leaves her mark on her school every year, school district officials said. Teachers know that when they are working on a particular lesson, Thomas will have the appropriate books available in the school's library.

Thomas' goal is to instill a love of reading in every student and she has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams, officials added. To Thomas, it doesn't matter where a student may be academically every child can be taught to love reading and to unlock the wonderful worlds reading can bring to life.

In receiving this national honor, Thomas received a paid trip to join the other nine winners at an awards ceremony held last week in New York City. In addition, she received a $5,000 award, which she plans to share with her school.

Source: School District of Lee County