NORTH BEND - Mild-mannered and unassuming behind the circulation desk, North Bend Public Library's director Gary Sharp isn't one for self promotion.

While his staff members say his dedication to serving the public and improving the collection is unswerving, it's difficult to get Sharp to admit he goes a bit beyond the norm.

It's for these reasons that Assistant Library Director Buzzy Nielsen and his colleagues nominated their boss for the Oregon Librarian of the Year award. That and this July, the  library services director will celebrate his 25th year at the library.

"He often doesn't get recognized for a lot of the things he does because he's so quiet about it," Nielsen said.

Today, at the Oregon Library Association's conference in Salem, Sharp will receive the honor - one that has never fallen on a Coos County librarian. It's also momentous since the commendation comes during Oregon's Sesquicentennial. Although that didn't factor into the nomination, Nielsen said it's pretty appropriate.

"Gary is a very dedicated Oregonian. He loves this state," Nielsen said.

On Tuesday, Sharp acknowledged the award as a great honor, but focused more on the public that uses his library - part of the Coos County Library Network - than on his own accomplishments.

"It gives me confirmation that we're doing some good things here," Sharp said.

He agreed that he keeps a friendly atmosphere at the library, something he learned while serving as an assistant under the library's former director, and that his efforts to expand library services and the collection don't differ from his colleagues.

"We do that because we want to serve the public the best we can," he explained.

While the award reaffirms his commitment and the values that guide Sharp's work, he doesn't see it as an opportunity to further his career. Born in Coos Bay and raised in Reedsport, the 56-year-old said he intends to retire here.

In a seven-page nomination letter from Nielsen to the Library Association, a number of community members, colleagues and employees described his kindness, leadership and professionalism.

Joan Greif, an acquisitions assistant at the library, said Sharp's many responsibilities as the director, a position he's held since 2002, don't overshadow his work as a librarian.

"Like most librarians, the director hat is frequently interchangeable with the tweed topper of Sherlock Holmes, the shaded visor of the astute accountant, the pith helmet of the literary explorer and the navigator's helmet of the cyberspace adventurer," she said for the letter.

Nielsen put together the letter about a week before deadline and was pleasantly surprised when library users and employees quickly backed the nomination.

The assistant director, who has worked with Sharp since August 2008, said his boss makes the library a viable resource for the community. Sharp fills gaps in the county and local collections; and offers courses on grant writing accessible to people in the Bay Area and surrounding counties. He even fought to create a full-time children's librarian position in North Bend.

"It's hard to imagine what the library would be without Gary," Nielsen said.

Oregon Library Association President Mary Ginnane said Sharp also has served on a number of committees for the OLA, has written grants to start a scholarship program for future librarians and also sits on the committee that chooses Librarian of the Year winners.

"It was very fitting that he should get the spotlight pointed at him," Ginnane said.

She's the one who broke the news to Sharp more than a week ago.

"His face was just beet red," the assistant director said.

"I was speechless," Sharp said. "Knowing the association was giving me the award, there couldn't have been a nicer thing to hear."

In addition to his work at the library, Sharp is an accomplished photographer and spends time with his pet and roommate, Valentine the Wonder Cat.