ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

ACRL honors the 2000 award winners

Recognizing professional achievement

Frazier named winner of Atkinson Award

Kenneth Frazier

Kenneth Frazier, director of the General Library System at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is this year’s recipient of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award. The award recognizes an academic librarian who has made significant contributions in the area of library automation or library management, and has also made notable improvements in library services, library development, or research.

In nominating Frazier, his colleagues noted that he “embodies the variety of qualities honored in this award—influential leadership, distinguished bravery, and remarkable innovation within and beyond our profession.” Award committee members said, “Frazier’s professional work has been marked by a visionary and studied understanding of higher education, libraries, and information technology and an ability to articulate and actualize his vision to communities within and beyond the library profession.”

Frazier has shown remarkable political and professional effectiveness over the past 27 years. His most notable activity is the inspiration and guidance for the launching and development of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC). He facilitated the University of Wisconsin’s successful multi-campus adoption of a new shared library management system. As chair of the CIC Library Directors Group, he was able to advance the CIC Virtual Electronic Library Project in partnership with OCLC. Frazier has also been a passionate and expert spokesperson for the library community in the intellectual property revolution that is currently being experienced.

“Hugh Atkinson is still very fondly remembered among my colleagues,” said Frazier. “His legacy continues to influence the development of library cooperation. It is an enormous honor to receive the award named for him.

“I feel incredibly fortunate to work in a professional community that supports experimentation and innovation.”

Frazier will receive an award of $2,000 and a citation at a ceremony and reception during the Library and Information Technology Association President’s Program on Monday, July 10, 2000, during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. The Faxon Company also awards a gold giraffe pen designed by Tiffany’s to recognize the “sticking your neck out” aspect of this award.

The award is jointly sponsored by ACRL, the Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA), the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), and the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), four divisions of ALA.

Previous award winners include: Susan K. Nutter (1999); Arnold Hirshon (1998); William Gray Potter (1997); Thomas W. Shaugnessy (1996); Nancy L. Eaton (1995); Dorothy Gregor (1994); Richard De Gennaro (1993); Miriam Drake (1992); Donald E. Riggs (1991); Russell Shank (1990).

Excellence in Academic Libraries winners

Nearly 45 college and university libraries around the country submitted applications describing exemplary programs for consideration for the Excellence in Academic Libraries award. This new award, sponsored by the ACRL, Blackwell’s Book Services and Blackwell’s Information Services, recognizes the staff of a community college, a college, and a university library for exemplary programs that deliver outstanding services and resources to further the educational mission of their institution.

Staff at the College of DuPage.

“We were extremely pleased by the response to this first-time national effort,” said ACRL President Larry Hardesty. “Libraries are working in very creative and innovative ways to support learning, teaching and research on their campuses, and library directors took the time to share this information with descriptions of their activities in the applications.”

W. Lee Hisle, chair of the selection committee, said, “The number and the high quality of the applicants particularly impressed the members of the committee. Many academic libraries have created innovative and exciting programs in support of their academic community needs and this made the selection of award winners in each category a difficult choice.”

Hisle said the award winners stood out, not just because of one or two exemplary programs, but because of their numerous outstanding programs. All the award winners succinctly described a multiplicity of imaginative and resourceful programs that reach out to students, faculty, administrators, and other members of the academic community.

College of DuPαge

The College of DuPage Library, winner in the community college category, is well known for its satellite teleconferencing program, but this was only one of ten library services programs highlighted in its application. Other programs included the Library Technical Assistance Training Program, the Community College Residential Librarian Program, and the Ameritech Inter-Connected Intergenerational Information Literacy Program. College of DuPage also emphasized its various partnerships and relationships, both outside and inside the institution, in creating and enhancing its many programs.

When informed of his library’s selection, Bernard Fradkin, library director, said, “I am happy on behalf of the entire staff to accept an award that will help us to share our successes with other college libraries. As a learning-centered library, we have always been open to new ways of reaching all segments of our community and to finding new and imaginative alternatives for using our resources to serve their needs.”

Wellesley College

Wellesley College Library, winner in the college category, emphasized its historical strengths through the use of its special collections to support academic programs. At the same time, the Wellesley College Library provided a model with its analysis of journal use and its use of consortial relationships to confront challenges that all academic libraries are now facing. Looking to the future, Wellesley described how its reorganization, which included the computing center staff, in the mid-1990s has successfully facilitated increased staff accountability, collaboration, and emphasis on the “customer.”

Micheline Jedrey

Micheline Jedrey, library director, said, “The Wellesley College Library is honored to be among the first class of recipients to receive the Excellence in Academic Libraries award. This award is a splendid tribute to the entire library staff because it recognizes the valuable contribution that each person makes to the quality of the services we provide to the Wellesley College community.”

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries, winner in the university category, emphasized how the library, through its programs and services, has given the university a competitive advantage. The University Libraries particularly underscored its continuous interaction with faculty and students to not only stay informed of, but to also creatively anticipate, information needs. NCSU Libraries also worked closely with university administrators to relate the libraries’ programs both to the institution’s short-term priorities and to its long-term educational mission. The selection committee was particularly impressed by the application’s clear delineation of the issues faced, the actions taken, and the outcomes resulting when describing the numerous innovative and exciting programs.

Susan K. Nutter, vice provost and director of libraries, said, “I am very proud of my library staff colleagues; they have truly earned this honor for us. It reflects the adoption of a fundamentally new culture and set of values within our organization. As a result, the staff has worked extremely hard to create innovative library services that place the needs of the user first. I also deeply appreciate the environment of support—from faculty, students, and university administration— on this campus for the libraries.”

Susan K. Nutter

In concluding its work, the committee said, “these libraries are obviously vital players in the educational process at their institutions. Clearly, the library staffs of the award winners have met the criteria of the Excellence in Academic Libraries award in truly exemplary ways and have come together as members of a team to support the mission of their institution.”

The award of $3,000 and a citation will be presented at ceremonies on each of the recipient’s campuses. A special recognition of each winning library will be made at the ACRL President’s Program during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

Ed. note:Winners of the other ACRL awards will be announced in forthcoming issues of C&RL News. ■