ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

ACRL honors the 2003 award winners: A recognition of professional achievement

College & Research Libraries

A recognition of professional achievement

by Stephanie Sherrod

Excellence in Academic Libraries winners announced

The winners of the 2003 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award are the City College of San Francisco’s Louise and Claude Rosenberg, Jr. Library and Learning Resource Center, Baruch College’s Newman Library, and the J. Edgar and Louise S. Monroe Library at Loyola University- New Orleans. Sponsored by ACRL and Blackwell’s Book Services, die award recognizes the staff of a college, university, and community college library for programs that deliver exemplary services and resources to further the educational mission of the institution.

“Receiving an Excellence in Academic Libraries Award is a national tribute to a library and its staff for the outstanding services, programs, and leadership they provide to their students, administrators, faculty, and community,” said Mary Ellen Davis, ACRL executive director.

The Library and Learning Resources Center of the City College of San Francisco

The Library and Learning Resources Center (LLRC) of the City College of San Francisco, winner in the community college category, emphasized how die staff had galvanized themselves into an effective team and lived the mantra of “Helping to Achieve Student Success.”

“The selection committee felt that the LLRC’s emphasis on ‘being about and for student success’ spawned energetic, effective, and highly creative programs and efforts,” Betsy Wilson, chair of the

2003 Excellence in Academic Libraries Selection Committee, said.

“Delighted, excited,and inuigamtedass words that best describe how exhilarated I felt when I found out our team (the faculty and staff) at the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) Library and Learning Resources won the prestigious ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, ” said Dean Rita Jones. “The close partnership with the faculty, administration, and students at our college enabled us to create innovative programs to serve our 90,000 diverse students and bring the acclaimed award to CCSF. On behalf of CCSF, our students, and the San Francisco Community, we tìiank you.”

Baruch College

Bamch College, winner in the college category, demonstrated how die staff pulled together with limited resources to meet the challenge of supporting the diversity of cultures, languages, and perspectives of the population it serves. “The selection committee salutes Bamch for its many exciting and innovative programs that furthered the mission of die college,” said Wilson.

Art Dowling, head of Baruch’s Library and Computing and Technology Center, told ACRL, “The award is a great honor for Bamch and for the City University of New York. ACRL is recognizing how well we serve diverse populations: top- ranking business and public affairs faculties, a world class arts and sciences faculty, and students who are among the city’s best. These are students who also work nearly full-time, live away from campus, and have very limited time on campus for scholarship outside of class. The award is a tribute to our students, our faculty, die great leadership of the college in President Ned Regan, the commitment of the City University and Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, the vision of William and Anita Newman, and most of all an extremely dedicated, imaginative, and hardworking staff.”

About the author

Stephanie Sherrod is ACRL program assistant, e-mail: ssherrod@ala.org

Atkinson named Academic/Research Librarian of the Year

Ross Atkinson, associate university librar- ian for collections at the Cornell University Library in Ithaca, New York, is the 2003 ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year. The award, sponsored by YBP Library Services, recognizes an outstanding mem- ber of the library profession who has made a significant national or international con- tribution to academic/research librarianship and library development. The award committee chair, Susan K. Nutter, commended Atkinson noting, “Ross Atkinson is arguably the foremost thinker in collection management in libraries today, and his work is setting the stan- dard for excellence. His schol- arly writings have been trans- formative, and his influence is deep and far-reaching.

“He is prized as a con- tributor to discussions, and his articles are a must-read for all because he combines careful research with vision- ary and original thinking. His impact on the profession can be measured by the many ref- erences to his work by other writers and practitioners and his peers, his presence as required reading in library course syllabi, and in the shaping of programs at various libraries. Ross Atkinson is one of the real intellectual lead- ers in our profession.”

“This is a wonderful honor, and I am so grate- ful to my colleagues who have recommended me for it,” said Atkinson. “Much of my work has been on theory, and I have always been keenly aware that a little theory can sometimes go a long way. I’ve always felt that the only real value of theory is to assist the reviewing and rethinking of concrete practice.

“So, the best tiling … about this award is that it provides me with a very gratifying sense that at least some of that work has indeed been helpful and applicable to real services. To me, that means everything. I also want to say that one main reason I’ve been able to pursue the subjects I have is that I’ve had the good fortune throughout my career to work in a succession of truly outstanding academic libraries; just to work in such a creative atmosphere, just to observe the constant analysis and improvement of services by so many innovative colleagues, has provided the real basis for all of my own work.”

Ross Atkinson, associate university librarian for collections at Cornell University Library.

Atkinson’s record of scholarly writings and publications is largely unmatched in signifi- cance. His body of scholarly and theoretical writing on collection manage- ment and scholarly communi- cation is among the most in- fluential and thought-provok- ing appearing in this field.

In nominating Atkinson, his peers wrote, “His record of authoring over 30 distin- guished publications alone would qualify him for the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award, but his service to the profession ex- tends far beyond this.” Atkinson received his B.A. in German from the Univer- sity of the Pacific in Stock- ton, California, in 1967. He went on to further study Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, earning a M.A. in 1969 and a Ph.D. in 1976. In 1977, Atkinson received his M.S. in Library Science from the Simmons College School of Library Science.

He will receive a $3,000 award and a citation at a ceremony and reception on Monday, June 23, 2003, at 4:30 p.m. at the ALA Annual Conference in Toronto. The reception is sponsored by YBP Library Services.

Previous award winners include Shelley Phipps, (2002); Larry Hardesty (2001); Sharon Hogan (2000); Hannelore Rader (1999); Allen B. Veaner (1998); James G. Neal (1997) ; Ralph Russell (1996); Joseph Boisse (1995); Irene Braden Hoadley (1994); William A. Moffett (1993); Carla Stoffle (1992); Richard DeGennaro (1991); and Patricia Battin (1990).

Loyola University-New Orleans

Loyola University-New Orleans, winner in the university category, was recognized for the way its staff has reinvented the library, not only with regard to the quality and quantity of information resources, but in terms of basic functions and expanding services.

Wilson and the selection committee commented, “Loyola University-New Orleans, through its leadership, partnerships, creativity, and innovation, has demonstrated itself to be a model of what excellent libraries are and will become. ” “The Monroe übrary faculty and staff at Loyola University-New Orleans are thrilled to receive the Excellence in Academic Libraries award as an affirmation of their contributions to achieving excellence and as an acknowledgment of the partnerships the library shares with the campus community,” said Mary Lee Sweat, director of libraries at Loyola University-New Orleans. “It is difficult to imagine a more talented and innovative group of people than our library faculty and staff, and I feel fortunate to work with them in achieving this award.”

Each winning library will receive $3,000 and a citation, to be presented at an award ceremony held on each recipient’s campus. The winners will also receive special recognition at the ACRL President’s Program during the ALA Annual Conference, Monday, June 23,2003, at 1:30 p.m. in Toronto.

Cheng receives Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship

Yungrang Laura

Yungrang Laura Cheng, a Ph.D. candidate from In- diana University, has been awarded the 2003 ACRL

Doctoral Dissertation Fel- lowship for her proposal, “Thoughts, feelings and actions: Quantitative comparisons of interac- tions and relationships among three factors in col- lege students’ information seeking.” Sponsored by Thompson ISI, the fellow- ship fosters research in aca- demic librarianship by encouraging and supporting dissertation research.

Kathryn Blackmer-Reyes, chair of the selection committee, said, “Cheng’s use of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies makes her proposal very innovative. Her work with complex methodologies in both formats strengthens her research question of information seeking very uniquely. While her interest in how students process information is informative, it is precisely her research methodology that placed her work above the other candidates. It should offer insights useful to front-line academic librarians on how and why students seek information.”

The award of $1,500 and a plaque will be presented to Cheng at the ALA Annual Conference during the ACRL President’s Program, Monday, June 23, at 1:30 p.m.

Farrell & Truitt awarded Lazerow Fellowship

Katharine Farrell, Princeton University Library, and Marc Truitt, University of Notre Dame Library, are the winners of the Samuel Lazerow Fellowship for their proposal to develop standards for acquisitions data in integrated library systems. Sponsored by Thompson ISI, the award fosters advances in collection development and technical services by providing fellowships to librarians for travel or writing in those fields.

“The research proposed by Farrell and Truitt addresses a significant concern for many academic libraries and will be an important contribution to the field,” said committee chair George Abbott.

The award of $1,000 and plaques will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference during the ACRL President’s Program, Monday, June 23,2003, at 1:30 p.m.

Snavely wins IS Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award

Loanne Snavely

Loanne Snavely, head of instructional programs at Pennsylvania State University libraries, is the win- ner of the ACRL Instruction Section’s Miriam Dudley

Instruction Librarian Award.

This award recognizes a li- brarian who lias made a sig- nificant contribution to the advancement of instmction in a college or research li- brary environment.

Chair of the Dudley award committee Beth Woodard wrote, “As one of her nominators so aptly described it, Loanne

Snavely has been a ‘consistent and impor- tant voice in the development and matura- tion of information literacy … Adding Loanne’s name to the list of distinguished Miriam Dudley Award winners is overdue.’”

The award is sponsored by Elsevier Science on behalf of its journal Research Strategies. A check for $1,000 and a plaque will be presented to Snavely at the ALA Annual Conference during the IS Program, Sunday, June 22, 2003, at 1:30 p.m.

Little honored with Marta Lange/CQ Award

The late Rosemary Allen Little, public administration, politics, and law librarian at Princeton University IJbrary, has been named the 2003 recipient of Marta Lange/Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Award. The award, established in 1996 by the ACRL Law and Political Science Section (LPSS), honors an academic or law librarian who has made distinguished contributions to bibliography and information service in law or political science.

Connie Salyers Stoner, chair of the Marta Lange Award Committee, said, “The letters of nomination commend Rosemary Little as a lifelong champion including selfless dedication to the promotion of access to government information. She helped found ALA’s Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), through which she furthered awareness of international and foreign government documents. Her career path at Princeton was a model of excellence in the areas of mentorship, professional development, and international engagement. Several of her Princeton faculty colleagues praised her commitment for working with people at every stage of their academic careers, from undergraduates to advanced scholars. She treated students with the same professionalism, dedication, and respect she accorded senior members of the faculty. She was proactive and once she knew students or faculty scholarly concerns, she did not simply wait for requests. She would acquire materials to support their research needs.

“Virtually everyone who has spent any time in the Princeton Politics Department lias a positive story to tell about her professionalism and love of knowledge.”

Congressional Quarterly, Inc., sponsor of the award, will present the $1,000 award and plaque at the ALA Annual Conference during the Marta Lange/CQ Luncheon on Saturday, June 21,2003, at 11:30 a.m.

Dickstein wins WSS Career Achievement Award

Ruth H. Dickstein

Ruth H. Dickstein, social sciences librarian at the University of Arizona, has been selected as the 2003 winner of the ACRL Women’s Studies Section (WSS) Career Achievement Award. The award, sponsored by Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., honors significant long- standing contributions to women’s studies librarian- ship over the course of a career.

“Ruth Dickstein is an outstanding example of a women's studies librarian,” said Connie Phelps, chair of the WSS award com- mittee. “She has made important, ground-breaking contributions to the field of women’s studies librarianship with her research and publications, her professional presentations, her mentoring of students and colleagues, and her service to the profession through WSS, of which she was a founding member. Her work as the Women’s Studies librarian at the University of Arizona is a model for collaborative teaching.”

A cash prize of $1,000 and a plaque will be presented to Dickstein at the 2003 ALA Annual Conference during the WSS Program, Monday, June 23, at 8:30 a.m.

WSS Significant Achievement Award goes to Barnes

Sherri Barnes

Sheni Barnes, associate librarian for women’s stud- ies, U.S. history, and the writing program and humanities collection co- ordinator at the Univer- sity of California-Santa Barbara, is the winner of the 2003 WSS Award for Significant Achievement in Women’s Studies Librarianship. The award honors a significant or one-time contribution to women’s studies librarian- ship.

“Sherri’s Web site, Black American Feminism: A Multidisciplinary Bibliography, brings together a vast number of citations from a variety of publications and makes the infoimation available to anyone seeking information on African American feminist thought,” said committee chair Connie Phelps. “A project like this in a book format would be a useful tool, but having the information available on a Web site will give access to a much greater number of people.”

A cash prize of $1,000 and a plaque will be presented to Bames at the WSS Program during the 2003 ALA Annual Conference, Monday, June 23, at 8:30 a.m. ■