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2005 RUSA Award Recipients

"Published online and in 60 print volumes, the dictionary surveys the significant contributions of individuals to British history, from the earliest times to the end of the year 2000," said John Lawrence, award committee chair. "The lives of 54,922 persons are documented in the 50, 113 entries of the dictionary. Some 14 years in the making, the work was edited by the late Colin Matthew and Brian Harrison with the assistance of over 10,000 contributors."

A revision and expansion of the century-old Dictionary of National Biography, the new Oxford DNB add substantially to the knowledge base established by the original and its supplements. Their 38,607 entries were all revised or entirely re-written. The bibliographies which accompany each article were updated. Another 16, 315 new entries greatly expand the historical coverage of women, labor and business. Over 10,000 illustrations are also newly added. Like the original that has served scholars for more than a century, the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an essential tool for historians that will stand the test of time."

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The cash award of $1,000, donated by Thomson Financial, a division of the Thomson Corporation, will enable a student enrolled in an ALA-accredited master's program to attend an ALA Annual Conference.

“Jared has shown leadership and ambition in librarianship and is highly recommended by his letters of reference,” said Paul Brothers, the award committee chair. “We believe, with the evidence that has been communicated to us, that Jared will be a great addition to the Business Reference and Services Section of RUSA.”

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The award, a citation and $3,000 donated by Thomson Gale, is given to an individual for distinguished activities in the field of business librarianship.

"It is as the editor of the Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship that Charles J. Popovich has made his greatest contribution to business librarianship," stated Bobray Bordelon, award committee chair. "His attention to assemblage of an outstanding editorial board and editors, and his systematic quest for authors and articles for the journal have provided business librarians with a primary place to publish and to obtain related research. He has mentored the profession through his leadership as one of the early chairs in the predecessor to BRASS and in many executive roles over several decades in the Business and Finance Division of the Special Libraries Association."

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The museum is receiving the award for the Ask Joan of Art!® Web reference service. This service answers questions from the public about American art.

"Begun in 1993, Ask Joan of Art!® was a pioneer in the digital reference field meeting people where they were across the nation," said Lori Thornton and Teresa Beck, award committee co-chairs. "In recognition of more than ten years of service excellence to students, teachers, librarians, the museum community, and life long learners, we are pleased to have chosen the Ask Joan of Art!® Web reference service for the Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services."

Kathleen Adrian, administrator and reference librarian, will accept the award on behalf of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

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The award consists of $1,500 and a citation donated by The Genealogical Publishing Company, and is given to encourage, recognize and commend professional achievement in historical reference and research librarianship.

“Michael Clegg has been active in genealogy and genealogy librarianship since the late 1970s,” stated Mary Mannix, award committee chair. “All of Michael’s accomplishments, of which there are many, pale in comparison to his crucial role as the creator and senior executive editor of the ‘Periodical Source Index (PERSI),’ the largest subject index to genealogical and historical periodical articles in the world.”

Mannix added, “In the world of history librarianship, being the father of PERSI is similar to being the father of ‘Medline’ or the ‘Readers Guide to Periodical Literature.’ There is nothing comparable to PERSI. History librarianship owes an incredible debt of gratitude to Michael Clegg. His work truly changed the way genealogy and local history librarians interact with an important type of reference source and thus greatly increased the level of service we can offer our patrons.”

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"Gary has a long and varied career in Adult Services, most notably in Readers Advisory," stated Jon J. Kadus, award committee chair. "He is the author of Make Mine a Mystery, a guide to the mystery genre for librarians and serves on and gives presentations to many organizations around the country. His involvement in programming, education and publishing makes him a valued recipient of the Margaret E. Monroe Award."

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"The award committee was impressed with Mr. Tyckoson's contributions to reference librarianship in the areas of teaching, training, publication, and association work," said Jerilyn Marshall, award committee chair. "He has written several influential articles analyzing models of and approaches to reference service. David Tyckoson has also been very active in national and local professional organizations, and has built a distinguished career devoted to defining and enhancing the profession's understanding of what it means to be a reference librarian."

"He is the developer and teacher of the first RUSA online course, "The Reference Interview," and is a frequent presenter at professional organizations." The Reference Interview is a distance education, Web-based course tailored for support staff, library technicians, newly hired reference librarians, and those librarians who want to brush up on their skills. It focuses on the methods of evaluating reference service, behavioral aspects of reference service, and the different types of questions that can be used to help patrons identify what they need. Using images, audio, and video, the course covers everything from the approachability of the librarian to how to follow up with a patron.

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The award, a plaque and $2,500 donated by Reference Service Press, is given to the author of the most outstanding article published in RUSQ, RUSA's quarterly journal, during the preceding two-volume years.

"This article was selected based on its timeliness to current library issues, particularly in response to the privacy concerns raised by the USA PATRIOT Act," stated Susan J. Beck, award committee chair. "It is a primer for librarians on both the ethical and legal dimensions surrounding privacy issues affecting both library users and librarians today. The article provides a thoughtful and comprehensive examination of all the dimensions of electronic privacy, pulling together the relevant issues while promoting the establishment of guidelines and recommendations for service providers."

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"The Bridgeport Public Library Historical Collection has been committed to collect and preserve their local labor history for over twenty years,'" said Dan Golodner, award committee chair. "Under Mary Witkowski's leadership the collection has been enhanced with an extensive oral history project with audio and transcripts on-line, but also a curriculum created with the help of area teachers. The library has done a great service to the community of Bridgeport by making available a part of their working class history to the world."

Mary K. Witkowski, head of the Historical Collection, will be accepting the award on behalf of the Bridgeport Public Library.

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The cash award of $3,000 and a citation is donated by Greenwood Publishing Group and is given to an individual, team or organization to recognize excellence in the reviewing of books and other materials for libraries. Established in 1990, the award is named for Louis Shores, editor-in-chief of Colliers Encyclopedia from 1960 to 1981, and dean of the Florida State University Library School from 1946 to 1967. Shores was one of the first and most influential advocates of the use of bibliographic instruction in universities, believing that the library serves as the center of instruction for the academic community.

Ronald Sukenick founded the ABR in 1977. For many years the ABR was the only book review devoted to independent presses. Today it continues to give the most in-depth coverage to these presses. Over the last half-decade the ABR has reviewed books published by over 200 independent presses, including university presses.

In ABR's Sukenick memorial issue, one contributor wrote, ". . . When it came to giving advice to an emerging fictioneer, he would always help you manage expectations while at the same time champion your best efforts so that you felt like you had a shot - a shot at anything: getting a story published, getting accepted into grad school, getting a novel published, getting an offer for a tenure-track position at the university or college in the town you already lived in, getting early tenure at the same university so you could continue dreaming about the alternative publishing empire striking back."

In his letter of nomination Charles B. Harris, current publisher of ABR writes, "Honoring Ron with the Louis Shores - Greenwood Publishing Group Award will celebrate Ron's life-long commitment to the life of literature. It will also confirm the continuing importance of American Book Review, which Ron founded and to which he devoted his time and energy for thirty years."

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The award is named for Virginia Boucher, professor emeritus at the university of Colorado-Boulder and former ILL librarian whose significant contributions and leadership enhanced the field of interlibrary loan. The $2,000 award and citation are donated by OCLC, Online Computer Library Center.

"Harry Kriz is being recognized for his significant and sustained contributions to the interlibrary loan community; not only for his key role in the development of ILLiad, which revolutionized ILL processes and procedures, but also for his continuing commitment to the field, exemplified by his continuing writing and speaking engagements," stated Jennifer Block, chair of the award committee. "In addition, his contributions to data analysis in ILL, which he shares regularly and generously via listservs and publications, inspires other practitioners."

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The citation and $1,000 travel award is sponsored by Dun & Bradstreet to support attendance at the ALA Annual Conference of a business librarian who works in a public library. The award is based on service to the community and on demonstration of need.

“As Business Services Librarian at the Pikes Peak Library District, Terry Zarsky forged strong ties with the business community and is considered one of the best business resources in Colorado Springs,” stated Doreen Harwood, award committee chair. “Her industriousness, creativity and reference acumen are well known in her business community and have contributed to her success as a business librarian and as a leader. Her outstanding leadership abilities and business expertise will be a tremendous asset for BRASS and we look forward to having her among our ranks as an active participant.”

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The Oregon Historical Society is receiving the award for its Oregon History Project, an online resource for learning about Oregon history that brings primary source documents and digitized artifacts together with web-based thematic and regional narratives, biographies, a k-12 learning center, and “focused digital packets” highlighting African American, Asian Pacific, Gubernatorial, Native Reservation, Women’s History and Wartime Portland.

“We were impressed by the skillful combination of hundreds of amply captioned digitized sources (maps, journal entries, photographs, and newspaper accounts), commissioned essays, lesson plans, instructions for teachers and bibliography,” said Jim Niessen, award committee chair. “The material is beautifully organized, with a clear pedagogical purpose and appealing presentation that is well conceived for its student-teacher audience.”

The award, which consists of a citation and $3,000 donated by ABC-CLIO, is given to encourage, recognize and commend professional achievement in historical reference and research librarianship. This award will be offered every other year beginning in 2005.

Cara Ungar, Ph.D., director of education, will accept the award on behalf of the Oregon Historical Society.