RUSA Achievement Awards 2018

M. Kathleen Kern

M. Kathleen Kern (rusqeditor@gmail.com) is the new editor of RUSQ, 2018–2021.

RUSA and its Sections are home to many knowledgeable and influential librarians who place library users at the center of their work. Each year members of RUSA’s Achievement Awards honor the most outstanding people, institutions, and projects in the field of reference and user services. This year’s selections were made possible with the hard work of our many superb committee volunteers, the people who took the time to nominate awardees, and the vendors who sponsored the awards.

For each of the awards the winner is listed with a brief summary of why they were chosen. Further information about the winners is available in the RUSA Update press releases at http://www.rusaupdate.org/category/news/awards-news/.

The nomination period for the 2019 Awards opens in October 2018. See the individual award websites at http://www.rusaupdate.org/awards/ for further information.—Editor

BRASS Awards

The BRASS SimplyAnalytics Student Travel Award enables a student enrolled in an ALA-accredited master’s program to attend an ALA Annual Conference. The award is given to a candidate who has demonstrated an interest in pursuing a career as a business reference librarian and has the potential to be a leader.

Rachel Holder, MLS candidate at Indiana University. Holder has successfully applied her coursework, her practical experience at Indiana University’s Business/SPEA Information Commons, her two internships, and her work as a graduate research assistant. Her article “Campus Crime Reporting Under the Clery Act” was published in the winter 2017 issue of DttP: Documents to the People.

Sponsored by SimplyAnalytics/SimplyMap (Geographic Research)

The BRASS Global Financial Data Academic Business Librarianship Travel Award is awarded to a librarian new to the field of academic business librarianship in order to support attendance to the ALA Annual Conference.

Alice Kalinowski, Liaison Librarian at the University of Pittsburgh (PA). Although an early career librarian, Kalinowski has taken full advantage of online BRASS courses and collaborative discussion groups. She is publishing in the area of liaison librarianship and has presented at conferences around the country on such diverse topics as problem-based learning and student database evaluation.

Sponsored by Global Financial Data

The BRASS Morningstar Public Librarian Support Award is awarded to a business reference public librarian to support travel costs to attend the ALA Annual Conference.

Amilcar Perez, Adult Services Librarian at Forest Park Public Library (IL). Perez’s main areas of focus are to increase visibility to the business community, build digital literacy, promote job and career development, and design assessment methods to identify gaps between community needs and programming. He has made a distinctive impact on a new series at Forest Park Public Library, “Explore Forest Park,” which highlights local businesses.

Sponsored by Morningstar

The BRASS Emerald Research Grant Award is given to support research in business librarianship.

Stephanie Pitts-Noggle, Business Specialist Librarian at Champaign (IL) Public Library. Pitts-Noggle’s research project, “Knowing what you don’t know: Uncovering entrepreneurs” will serve as the initial groundwork for the development of a theory of the information needs and behaviors of early stage entrepreneurs.

Sponsored by Emerald Publishing

The BRASS Mergent, by FTSE Russell, Excellence in Business Librarianship Award recognizes an individual who has distinguished him- or herself in the field of business librarianship.

Chris LeBeau, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Missouri; Librarian for Management and Public Administration, University of Missouri-Kansas City (retired); RUSA President (2017–2018). LeBeau’s service mindset extends beyond campus and professional associations. She collaborates with metropolitan public libraries on business resources and entrepreneurship programs, teaches business research classes in the Kansas City community through the Kauffman Foundation for the First Step Fund and Operation Jumpstart, which support displaced or disadvantaged entrepreneurs, and works with KCSourceLink, a small business development resource serving eighteen counties.

Sponsored by Mergent, by FTSE Russell

Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES)

The Louis Shores Award recognizes excellence in reviewing of books or other materials for libraries.

Ron Charles, Editor of “Book World” at the Washington Post. A review by Ron Charles can spike interest in a title and bring readers into the library. Through his “Totally Hip Video Book Review” series he reaches an even wider audience and offers clever and accessible evaluations that have exposed a new group of readers to the pleasures of a book review.

Emerging Technologies Section (ETS)

The ETS Achievement Recognition Award is presented in recognition of excellence in service to the ETS section.

Donna Brearcliffe, Acting Head, Humanities and Social Sciences Section, Researcher and Reference Services Division of the Library of Congress. Brearcliffe served as Chair of ETS shortly after the section changed its name from MARS. She advocated strongly for completing that transition and embracing the opportunities that could come from firmly focusing the section around emerging technologies.

History Section (HS)

The Genealogy / History Achievement Award was established to encourage, recognize, and commend professional achievement in genealogical reference and research librarianship.

Plummer Alston Jones, Jr., Professor of Library Science at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. Jones developed and teaches one of the few courses for graduate credit in a library science program that is geared towards genealogical and local history collection librarianship. He served as a previous editor of the North Carolina Genealogical Society, NCGS News, and on the Executive Board as a director.

Sponsored by ProQuest

The Gale Cengage Learning History Research and Innovation Award is presented annually to a librarian to facilitate and further research relating to history and history librarianship.

Jennifer McElroy, Reference Librarian at the Minnesota Historical Society. McElroy was selected for her innovative research into Minnesota local history and working to uncover the truth behind local legend Lord Gordon Gordon. Her research thus far is an important contribution to the field of public history.

Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning

Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section (STARS)

The Atlas-Systems Mentoring Award is awarded to two library practitioners new to the field of interlibrary loan, document delivery, or electronic reserves, and supports travel expenses for the ALA Annual Conference.

Pearl G. Adzei-Stonnes, Public Services, Acquisitions and Interlibrary Loan Librarian at Virginia Union University. Adzei-Stonnes was chosen as the winner of the STARS Atlas Systems Mentoring Award because the essay submitted had an overall theme of leadership.

Guerda Baucicaut, Inter Library Loan and Reserves Specialist at the City University of New York. Baucicaut understands the importance of networking and actively seeks out opportunities to learn from others in the profession. Her essay also emphasized the need for continuous learning for librarians and users alike.

Sponsored by Atlas Systems

The Virginia Boucher-OCLC Distinguished Interlibrary Loan Librarian Award is given to a librarian for outstanding professional achievement, leadership, and contributions in interlibrary loan and document delivery.

Kurt Munson, Assistant Head of Access Services at Northwestern University Library (IL). “Kurt has established himself as one of the foremost authorities on resource sharing systems,” selection committee Chair Mary Hollerich praised. “His recent white papers on next generation resource sharing management and discovery to delivery systems are sure to have a global impact as they provide a framework for the resource sharing systems we will all be using for years to come.”

Sponsored by OCLC/WorldCat

Reference and User Services (RUSA)

The John Sessions Memorial Award is presented to a library or library system in recognition of significant efforts to work with the labor community.

The Iowa Labor Collection and Iowa Labor History Oral Project (ILHOP), State Historical Society of Iowa. The Iowa Labor Collection is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive labor history collections in the world, and ILHOP is one of the only large-scale oral history projects initiated and funded by labor unions themselves. ILHOP and the Iowa Labor Collection represent an enduring partnership between Iowa labor unions and the State Historical Society.

Sponsored by the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO

NoveList’s Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award recognizes a librarian who has made significant contributions to library adult services.

Kaite Stover, Director of Readers’ Services at Kansas City Public Library (MO). There is seldom a national conference at which Stover isn’t presenting, usually multiple times. During all of this, she finds time to encourage other librarians and help them find opportunities for professional advancement and national participation. Stover has a stellar record of publications, with regular contributions to Booklist and Public Libraries and other appearances throughout the library literature. She is the co-editor of The Readers’ Advisory Handbook, a text used in many library schools.

Sponsored by NovelList

The ReferenceUSA Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Services recognizes a library or library system for developing an imaginative and unique resource to meet patrons’ reference needs.

The Toledo Lucas County Public Library (OH) for its Spending Smarter website (http://www.toledolibrary.org/spendingsmarter). As a one-stop shop for personal finance, investment, and referral information for northwest Ohio, “Living Better, Spending Smarter” was developed in collaboration by Melissa Jeter, Adult Services Librarian and Linda Koss, Grant Specialist, Business Technology Services, with the idea that vetted, full-text information would available in an online environment, rather than a traditional bibliography.

Sponsored by Reference USA

The Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award, RUSA’s highest honor, is given to an individual who has made a distinguished contribution to reference librarianship.

Eleanor Mitchell, Director of Library Services at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Sarah B. Watstein, Dean, Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons of Seattle University (WA). For the past thirteen years, Mitchell and Watstein have served as co-editors of Reference Services Review. Eleanor Mitchell is a nationally known authority on information literacy and instruction issues in library services and advocates for the integral role of information literacy in the curriculum as one of the complex challenges of contemporary reference services. Sarah Watstein is a prolific author of books, articles, and conference presentations on topics such as the role of artificial intelligence systems, how our spaces affect our services, how to revolutionize reference service delivery, and the statistical evaluation of reference service.

Sponsored by Credo Reference