The Cranston Public Library received “Library of the Year” honors during the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies 2015 Annual Gathering at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick on March 6.

The library was honored for its excellent service to provide state-of-the-art information technology access to patrons, including 3D printers, a new technology lab called the “C” Lab, e-reader training, and personalized computer instruction. Twelve Cranston employees and several library school students proudly represented the system’s 32 full-time and 80 part-time employees at the event.

“The Cranston Public Library and myself personally are honored to receive this award and recognition from the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at URI,” said Ed Garcia, the library’s director.

“The school gave me a career that I am passionate about. Everything that I have been able to achieve has been because of the start I got at GSLIS. But this award is about our staff. The staff at the Cranston Public Library provides an extremely important service to the people of Cranston. They provide excellent customer service, innovative programs and are the backbone of this organization. They are the reason we were chosen as Library of the Year.”