ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

ACRL honors the best in academic and research librarianship

Carla Stoffle, director of libraries at the Univer- sity of Arizona, has been named the 1992 ACRL Academic or Research Librarian of the Year. Stoffle will receive the award (a $3,000 cash award and citation) at a reception given in her honor on June 29,1992, at 5:30 p.m. during ALA’s Annual Confer- ence in San Francisco. The reception immediately follows ACRL’s President’s Program. Baker & Tay- lor Books donates the cash award and citation.

In nominating Stoffle, her colleagues said, “Her influence on the profession has been immeasur- able. Few librarians of her generation have so involved themselves in national issues … consistently demonstrated the kind of dedication and commitment to the profession that she has.”

In selecting Stoffle for the association’s highest honor, com- mittee chair Karen Wittenborg said, “We were particularly struck by the span of her inter- est.” The committee cited her contributions to the develop- ment of bibliographic instruc- tion and user services. As her colleagues noted, “the biblio- graphic instruction program which she developed at the Uni- versity of Wisconsin-Parkside attracted the attention of the na- tional media in the mid-seven- ties .. . [and] served as a model for programs developed at many other institutions.”

Stoffle’s support of issues re- lated to diversity and the recruit- ment of minorities to the profession were also noted by the committee. She established a minority retention demonstration project at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and was the leader in the development of the Peer Information Counseling Program at the University of Michigan Library. While at Michigan she initiated steps to improve the attitudes toward and commitment to diversity. The programs she developed are “models for setting goals and achieving progress in minority recruitment and involvement,” according to those who nominated her.

Stoffle’s contributions to the profession’s associations are numerous. She has been active in ACRL since 1975 and was one of the founding members of the Bibliographic Instruction Section. She was elected ACRL’s president for 1982-83 and served on the Board of Directors from 1981 to 1983. She then became active in ALA and was elected to the Council in 1983. She has served on the ALA Executive Board since 1985 and as ALA Treasurer since 1988.

Carla Stoffle: “Her influence on the profession has been immeasurable. ”

Stoffle has written and spoken widely, authoring three books, numerous articles and chapters, and making countless presentations. Her writing has focused predominantly on academic libraries, ad- dressing programmatic initiatives and innovative approaches to service on topics such as biblio- graphic instruction, leadership, the M-Link Project, libraries and undergraduates, involvement in the profession, and future trends in academic librarianship.

Stoffle is the recipient of the Miriam Dudley Bibliographic Instruction Librarian of the Year Award (1991), the Outstanding Alumnus of the College of In- formation Science, University of Kentucky Award (1989), and the Reference Service Press Award (1986).

Stoffle began her career as a library intern at the University of Kentucky. She also held li- brary positions at the Univer- sity of Wisconsin-Parkside, where she eventually became assistant chancellor for educa- tional services. After that she served as associate director for public services at the University of Michigan and was promoted to deputy director there in 1986, a position she held until 1991 when she assumed her current position at the University of Arizona.

The Academic or Research Librarian of the Year Award is given annually to recognize an individual who is making outstanding contributions to academic or research librarianship and library development. Previous winners have included Richard De Gennaro (1991); Patricia Battin (1990); John P. McGowan (1989); Edward G. Holley (1988); Duane Webster (1987); Margaret Beckman (1986); Jessie Carney Smith (1985); Richard D. Johnson (1984); Richard M. Dougherty (1983); William Budington (1982); Beverly P. Lynch (1981); Evan Ira Farber (1980); Henriette D. Avram and Frederick G. Kilgour (1979); Keyes D. Metcalf and Robert D. Downs (1978).