Jim Crawford Award

The 'Jim Crawford Award for Innovation in Libraries' celebrates innovative and inspiring services and projects being delivered through South Australia's public libraries.

Nominations for 2026 are now closed. The finalists will be announced soon and the winner decided by a public vote!

The award honours Jim Crawford who established the South Australian public libraries network. It's awarded every two years.

In recognising new and innovative library services, projects or leaders, the award showcases the critical role libraries play in communities, creating places for learning, connection, inclusion and creativity.

The winning library of the Jim Crawford Award for Innovation in Libraries will receive a cash prize.

Who can nominate

Anyone working in South Australian public libraries.

Who is eligible

You can nominate a library, an individual or groups working with South Australian public libraries.

The nomination must meet at least one of the following criteria:

library service innovation which benefits the community
library service improvements for disadvantaged communities
inspirational leadership in libraries
library project which demonstrates outstanding innovation.

This year, finalists will be put to a People’s Choice, calling on South Australians to award their favourite library.

How to nominate

Nominations for this year have now closed. Finalists will be announced soon.

Submissions needed to be no more than 1,000 words covering:

reason for nomination
background about the service and/or project
how the service and/or project was delivered
outcomes of what was achieved.

If you have any questions, please email marketing@lga.sa.gov.au.

Prize for the winner

The library will receive a cash prize which may be used to:

provide professional development for staff
drive further innovation in service delivery through research and development
build on existing innovation
purchase significant equipment or library materials.

Assessment panel

Nominations are assessed by a:

senior leader of the LGA
member of the Public Libraries SA Executive Committee
member of the Crawford family.

The award will be presented at the 2026 LGA AGM Conference on Friday 4 December 2026.

About Jim Crawford

Jim Crawford was Chairman of the Libraries Board of South Australia from 1977 until 1987, having been a member since 1972.

As Chairman of the Libraries Board, Mr Crawford guided the development of two key reports:

Library Development in South Australia (1978)
South Australian Libraries – Moving Towards 2000 (1986).

The first report became the blueprint for the establishment of all public libraries in South Australia, while the second supported the continued growth and development of these libraries.

Mr Crawford also spent more than 20 years as an elected local government member.

He was a Councillor of Brighton City Council from 1973 until 1977, Mayor of Brighton from 1977 to 1980, and a Councillor at the City of Adelaide from 1985 until 1997.

Mr Crawford was well respected for his vision, sense of justice, personal and business ethics and genuine awareness of community needs.

In line with these character traits, he worked to establish a library network that allowed all South Australians to access books, information technology and other beneficial learning tools from a local library, regardless of where they lived.

In keeping with his ability to broker partnerships in all walks of life, Mr Crawford convinced both State and Local Governments to implement an equal funding partnership for the public library network. This partnership remains strong today.

Previous winners

2024 Winner - Kingston Community School Library (Kingston District Council) for the Literary without barriers program
2022 Winner - Kadina Community Library for the 'Always Open' project
2020 Winner - Onkaparinga Libraries with Neporendi Aboriginal Forum Inc. to deliver “Southern Deadly Yarns”
2020 Commendation Award for Community Impact:
- Light Regional Council Library Service for “Once Upon a Story Trail” (Light Regional Council)
- Bordertown Public Library for improvements to the library service (Tatiara District Council)
2020 Commendation Award for Innovation:
- Minlaton School Community Library for the Minlaton Storytime video collection (Yorke Peninsula Council)
- Jaidyn Edwards, City of PAE Libraries Technology Officer, for development
2018 Winner - City of Salisbury, Microsoft Office Bootcamp
2016 Winner - The Rural City of Murray Bridge, Re-ignighting a loge for local language
2014 Winner - The City of Playford Library Service, Give the Gift of Reading initiative
2014 Encouragement Award - Roxby Council, Community Library English Conversation Group
2012 Winner - The Mount Gambier Library (City of Mount Gambier)
2012 Encouragement Award - Alexandrina Library, Strathalbyn (Alexandrina Council)
2012 Honourable Mention - Morgan Library (Mid Murray Council).
2010 Winner - City of Salisbury Library (City of Salisbury) and the City of West Torrens Library (West Torrens)
2010 Merit Award - Yorketown Community and School Library (District Council of Yorke Peninsula)
2010 Commendation Awards - Murray Bridge Public Library (The Rural City of Murray Bridge) and the Unley Young Writers' Group (City of Unley)
2008 Winner - Charles Sturt Library Service (City of Charles Sturt)
2008 Merit Award - Murray Bridge Public Library (Rural City of Murray Bridge)
2007 Merit Award - Campbelltown Public Library Service (City of Campbelltown)
2006 Winner - West Torrens Library Service (City of West Torrens)
2006 Special Recognition Award - City of Onkaparinga
2004 Winner - District Council of Mt Barker
2004 Commendation Award - City of Salisbury
2002 Winner - Wattle Range Council