A student assembly in the J.C. Petty Center at Hartselle Junior High School caught librarian Beth Rabb by surprise Wednesday morning when she realized she was the person being recognized.

Rabb was seated in the bleachers with students when Hartselle City Schools Superintendent Dr. Vic Wilson stepped forward and announced her as a 2014 winner of the prestigious Herman Moore LAMP Award. Loud applause erupted when he asked her to come forward to receive a certificate of recognition to commemorate her achievement.

“I’m so honored,” she told Wilson and Principal Robbie Smith. Then she faced the student body and made this request: “I want you to come to the library and find a new book. Nothing is more fun than to have a book that you can’t put down.”

Rabb will be recognized again on Thur., Sept. 26, when she is formally announced as a LAMP award winner and presented with a plaque at the Alabama Library Expo at Calhoun Community College.

The award is presented annually to a librarian or media specialist who has rendered outstanding and exceptional service to his or her patrons, school and community over an extended period.

Rabb was nominated for the award without her knowledge by assistant principal Sabrina Buettner earlier this year.

“This is a great honor but it is not about what I do but what we do working together to help our students become successful leaders,” Rabb stated. “Working with the Leader in Me Program has convinced he that every student has the potential to be a leader and our teachers are working together to make that happen.”

“Recognizing our personnel when they go the extra mile to serve others is the greatest thing we can do.” Wilson said. “Mrs. Rabb is making a positive impact in our school system, She went the extra mile to make the move to a new school and the library was the first place in the building that was ready to go.

“She understands the need to take the library outside of the school building and is very deserving of this honor,” he added.

“Mrs. Rabb is such a great representative of what we are doing at Hartselle Junior High,” Smith said, “and that is to serve our students.”

Rabb has served as librarian for six years and has 25 years of teaching experience. She and her husband have three adult children and seven grandchildren.