Librarian Jo Osborne with Jake and Rachel Cuthbert

This undated photograph shows Worthington Libraries children's librarian Jo Osborne with her grandchildren, Rachel and Jake Cuthbert. Osborne smiles at the camera, with Rachel in the foreground and Jake in the back.

Jo Osborne was a children's librarian at Worthington Libraries from 1979 until her death at age 59 in 1995. The Jo Osborne Award for Humor in Children's Literature was established in 1996 to honor her commitment to bringing children, books and humor together. The award recognizes the art of humor in either a single children's book or in the body of work of a children's literature author. As described in the brochure for the award, Jo "sought out the silly, the funny, the poignant, the witty for storytelling and puppet shows to impart a love of books to all the children who were lucky enough to cross her path" during her years as a librarian