Author Florenz Maxwell is the first recipient of the Library Association of Bermuda's Excellence in Service Award.

Public Information Minister Neletha Butterfield presented the award on Sunday evening, hailing Mrs Maxwell as an outstanding contributor to Bermuda's literary culture.

A long-serving youth librarian, Mrs Maxwell is also the author of novels, stories, poems and a collection of work entitled 'The Spirit Baby and other Bermudian Folk Tales'.

Ms Butterfield said: "I applaud Mrs Maxwell for her efforts to ensure that important oral accounts and folktales of our cultural history that were at risk of being buried beneath the sands of time are properly unearthed for all of us and especially for our future generations to enjoy."

A copy of the book was placed in a time capsule in St. George's as part of last year's 400th anniversary of Bermuda.

Presenting the service award on behalf of the Ministry and the Bermuda National Library, Ms Butterfield praised Mrs Maxwell as "a living legend" whose work had enriched the community, adding: "We would do well to follow in her footsteps, especially in the age of BlackBerrys, iPods, cell phones and the internet, which tend to lure us away from the importance of literature and folklore."