It’s library award season! Time to nominate our hard-working colleagues to thank them for a job well done. The American Library Association has several awards that represent all facets of library work. Here are some that may be of interest to you, but be sure to look at the full list. The award descriptions below come directly from ALA’s web pages.
Ross Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award
This award honors the legacy of Ross Atkinson, distinguished library leader, author, and scholar, whose extraordinary service to ALCTS and the library community at-large serves as a model for those who follow. The award is given to recognize the contribution of a library leader through demonstrated exceptional service to ALCTS and its areas of interest (acquisitions, cataloging and metadata, collection management, continuing resources, and preservation and reformatting).
For more information and application guidelines visit:
http://www.ala.org/alcts/awards/profrecognition/atkinsonlife
Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award
This award honors the life and accomplishments of Hugh C. Atkinson by soliciting nominations and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of an academic librarian who has worked in the areas of library automation or library management and has made contributions (including risk taking) toward the improvement of library services or to library development or research.
For more information and application guidelines visit:
http://www.ala.org/acrl/awards/achievementawards/atkinsonmemorial
Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Preservation Award
This award was established to honor the memory of Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris, early leaders in library preservation. The award will be given to recognize the contribution of a professional preservation specialist who has been active in the field of preservation and/or conservation for library and/or archival materials.
For more information and application guidelines visit:
http://www.ala.org/alcts/awards/profrecognition/banksharris
Editor’s note: Why are there no pictures of Carolyn Harris online? If someone knows of one, let me know and I will add it here.
George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Award
This award honors the memory of George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg, early leaders in cooperative preservation programming and strong advocates for collaboration in the field of preservation. The award, sponsored by Hollinger Metal Edge, acknowledges and supports cooperative preservation projects and/or rewards individuals or groups that foster collaboration for preservation goals. Recipients of the award demonstrate vision, endorse cooperation, and advocate for the preservation of published and primary source resources that capture the richness of our cultural patrimony. The award recognizes the leadership and initiative required to build collaborative networks designed to achieve specific preservation goals. Since collaboration, cooperation, advocacy and outreach are key strategies that epitomize preservation, the award promotes cooperative efforts and supports equitable preservation among all libraries, archives and historical institutions.
For more information and application guidelines visit:
http://www.ala.org/alcts/awards/profrecognition/lbicunhaswartz
Editor’s note: No Susan Swartzburg image online? I’m sensing a trend here. We need to better document the women in our field.
Esther J. Piercy Award
The Esther J. Piercy Award was established by the Resources and Technical Services Division of the American Library Association in 1968 in memory of Esther J. Piercy, editor of Journal of Cataloging and Classification from 1950 to 1956 and of Library Resources & Technical Services from 1957 to 1967. This award is given to recognize the contribution to those areas of librarianship included in library collections and technical services by a librarian with not more than 10 years of professional experience who has shown outstanding promise for continuing contribution and leadership.
For more information and application guidelines visit:
http://www.ala.org/alcts/awards/profrecognition/estherjpiercy
Editor’s note: Seriously. We have lost a big chunk of history…or herstory.
Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant
The award was established in 2011 by the Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) to honor the career and influence of Jan Merrill-Oldham, distinguished leader, author, and mentor in the field of library and archives preservation. The Jan Merrill-Oldham Professional Development Grant is awarded by the ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting Section to provide librarians and paraprofessionals new to the preservation field with the opportunity to attend a professional conference and encourages professional development through active participation at the national level. The grant is to be used for airfare, lodging, and registration fees to attend the ALA Annual Conference.
For more information and application guidelines visit:
http://www.ala.org/alcts/awards/grants/jmogrant