RUSA News/Announcements

2014 Achievement Award winners announced

The 2014 RUSA Achievement Awards have been announced. For full details on the award winners, please see the announcement at ALA News. Winners will be recognized at the RUSA Achievement Awards Ceremony and Reception at ALA Annual on Sunday June 29 from 5:00-6:30 PM Sunday, June 29. Additional event details will be available on the RUSA website in April.

Achievement Award winners

•  Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award (sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning): William Miller, Dean of Libraries at Florida Atlantic University, was selected because of his extensive career as an editor, author, scholar, and practitioner in the field of reference services.
•  Novelist’s Margaret E. Monroe Award: Diana Tixier Herald, Program and Outreach Manager at Delta County Libraries in Colorado was selected because of she has excelled in her readers’ advisory efforts; her unwavering support for readers and literacy has left a national legacy.
•  Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services (sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning): The Northville District Library (Mich.) was selected for its Northville Historic Records portal, an organized primary source that unites various community sectors to capture the city’s rich history.
•  Reference Service Press Award (Supported by Reference Service Press): Awarded to Laura Saunders and Mary Wilkins Jordan of Simmons College for their the article “Significantly Different?: Reference Services Competencies in Public and Academic Libraries,” RUSQ (52:3).
•  John Sessions Memorial Award (sponsored by the Department of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO): The Local History and Genealogy Department of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library (Ohio) was selected due to its extensive efforts in building an ongoing legacy recognizing the labor community.
•  Virginia Boucher-OCLC Distinguished ILL Librarian Award (Sponsored by OCLC): David Larsen, Head of Access Services and Assessment at the University of Chicago Library was selected for his innovative and practical approaches to resource sharing, willingness to learn and test new products and improved workflow efficiencies.
•  Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship (sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning): Award-winning author and Associate Librarian, Celia Ross, of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business was selected for her dedication and commitment to the field of business librarianship and its practitioners.
•  Genealogical Publishing Company Award (Supported by Genealogical Publishing Company): William “Bill” Forsyth, Director of Product Management at ProQuest was selected because he is an active and prominent member of RUSA’s History section as well as the keynote speaker for many genealogical events. His outstanding contributions to the field sustain the importance of genealogy in historical research.
•  MARS My Favorite Martian Award: Anne Houston, Director of Humanities and Social Sciences Services at the University of Virginia Libraries was selected because of her years of membership and her because warmth and capacity for personal connection have positively impacted the section’s recruitment and retention of members. Houston will be presented a citation

Travel and Research Grant Recipients

•  Gale Cengage Learning History Research and Innovation Award (Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning): Yvonne Carignan, Head of Special Collections and Archives at George Mason University Libraries, for her project “History of Virginia Antebellum Social Libraries.”
•  BRASS Emerald Research Grant (Sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing Limited): Ilana Barnes, Business Information Specialist and Tao Zhang, Digital User Experience Specialist of Purdue University Libraries are the project heads of “Assessment of Business Undergraduate Student Engagement and Behavior in a Crowd-Sourced Library Help System: Best Practices and Emerging Technology Opportunities.”
•  Business Expert Press Award for Academic Business Librarians (Supported by Business Expert Press): Desirae Zingarelli-Sweet, at the Carrier Library of James Madison University was selected for her outstanding efforts in collaboration with business faculty, students and community partners; library instruction; and business reference research at the university.
•  Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award (sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning): Katharine Macy, MLIS candidate at the University of Washington was selected because of her extensive background and education in business.
•  STARS Atlas Systems Mentoring Award (Sponsored by Atlas Systems, Inc.): Jacob Kubrin, Resource Sharing and Fulfillment Specialist at Cushing Library at Holy Names University, demonstrated a great need for professional development, networking and education to serve the ever increasing patron needs of the library.

RUSA Book and Media Awards
The following awards were announced at the RUSA Book and Media Awards Ceremony at the 2014 Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia.

Dr. Grace Jackson-Brown from the Duane G. Meyer Library at Missouri State University is the 2014 winner of the Zora Neale Hurston Award, which recognizes an individual that has demonstrated leadership in promoting African-American literature. Selected for her work with the Springfield African American Read-In and Dream Big programs, has exposed diverse audiences to authors, workshops, live readings and celebrations that incorporate African-American authors. Sponsored by Harper Perennial, the award consists of $1,250 to attend the ALA Annual Conference, tickets to the FOLUSA Author tea, and a set of the Zora Neale Hurston books published by Harper Perennial at the time the award is made.

Francine Graf, former Editorial Director of Choice has been named as the 2014 winner of the Louis Shores Award, which honors an individual reviewer, group or editor for their book reviewing excellence for libraries. Graf, retired as of early 2014, was chosen for her outstanding contributions to reviewing for resources for academic audiences. Graf will receive a citation at the ALA Annual Conference.

Mammals of Africa (Bloomsbury), edited by Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Mike Hoffmann, Tom Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina, was selected as the winner of the Dartmouth Medal, honoring a significant reference publication. This amazing source covers every recognized mammalian species in Africa. This resource will serve as a primary source of information and as a baseline for preserving the biodiversity of this great continent. A medal will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference.

Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation (HarperCollins) by Yossi Klein Halevi was named the winner of the 2014 Sophie Brody Award. The award encourages, recognizes and commends outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. A medal will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference.