These very special awards honor Core members who make significant contributions to the division and to the profession but whose accomplishments do not fall within the criteria for Core's other awards. They are awarded by the current Core President on an annual basis.
Recipients are selected by the Core President based on achievement. Core membership is required to be eligible, and applications are not accepted. A limited invitation to recommend nominees may be extended. The Core President notifies recipients in spring of the year received.
2023 Winners
- Debra Andreadis
LibGuides Project Team Chair
When Core put out the call for a volunteer to chair our LibGuides Project Team, Debra answered. The previous ALCTS and LLAMA divisions had a wide variety of resources hosted in multiple LibGuides installations. Debra led a group of volunteers that inventoried the content on the various sites, created a new structure for the Core LibGuides site, migrated the content, and designed a user-friendly interface. The Team’s work will allow Core’s committees, interest groups, and sections to easily add and maintain information and resources for Core members and the profession as a whole.
- Tom Ferren
Core Professional Development Program Officer
The Core Board recognizes Tom's dedication to Core, his management and planning a myriad of Core continuing education events, his support and work managing Annual Conference events and planning Core Forum, and his commitment to make all Core events a success. Behind that calm and positive exterior lies a strong desire to make Core a better and stronger organization and create an environment that benefits all Core members.
- Lynn Hoffman
Leadership & Management Section Chair
As a former president in LLAMA and key person in the Core planning process, Lynn Hoffman stepped in again to work with the members of the Leadership and Management Section Leadership Team to help restart this critical section of Core. Her ability to bring people together, collaborate on solutions, and move tasks forward has been a hallmark of her service in both LLAMA and Core.
- Elisabeth Martin, FAIA
Core Library Interiors & Furniture Committee Co-chair
After nearly 30 years volunteering with ALA in some capacity, Elisabeth is moving into the Past Chair Role of LIFE and will be ending her term on the committee after Core Forum 2023, where she will co-present Furniture & Materials: Tried, True, and What’s New! Throughout the years she has volunteered in LLAMA and now the Core Buildings & Operations Section, including the Architecture for Public Libraries Committee, Functional Space Requirements Past Committee Chair, Buildings & Operations Executive Committee, and the Library Interiors & Furniture Committee & Chair 2011- 2023. She has led numerous Core preconference tours, including co-leading the 2023 Merchandise Mart Furniture Showrooms and Factory Tour. Throughout her career, she has given more than 30 presentations on library design topics and has specialized in the planning and design of libraries, including serving as the Director of Planning, Design, and Facilities for Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) from 1996 to 2003 and Program Director for the Libraries Unit of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC). As a recognized library design specialist, her experience includes working on over 300 library facilities. We thank Elisabeth for her dedication to Core, ALA, and the library and design profession.
- Elizabeth Nelson
Library Leadership & Management (LL&M) Journal Editor
The editors of the three Core journals have worked collaboratively to establish a road forward for the journals through creating and reviewing a request for proposals for hosting the journals on a unified platform, standardizing workflows, and making them all open access. While much work remains in the migration and for establishing cost sustainability, the Core Board is grateful to the journal editors for this immense undertaking on top of their normal responsibilities.
- Kelly Sattler
Technology Section Chair, Web Committee Chair
Chairing the Technology section is a big job in itself, so the Core Board is grateful that Kelly was additionally willing to chair the Web Committee this year to cover for a colleague who was diagnosed with a major illness. Both the Technology Section and the Web Committee are well set for future years of work thanks to Kelly’s leadership. In addition, Core has adopted a new template for committee descriptions based on Kelly and the Technology Section’s work.
- Rachel Scott
Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS) Journal Editor
The editors of the three Core journals have worked collaboratively to establish a road forward for the journals through creating and reviewing a request for proposals for hosting the journals on a unified platform, standardizing workflows, and making them all open access. While much work remains in the migration and for establishing cost sustainability, the Core Board is grateful to the journal editors for this immense undertaking on top of their normal responsibilities.
- Amanda Sprochi
Committee on Cataloging: Description and Access (CC:DA) Chair
The Cataloging Description and Access Committee is critical to the library profession, but over these last years has suffered from a vacuum in leadership. This year Amanda jumped in to serve as chair without much notice and was able to lead this committee back to strength. The Core Board is grateful for her leadership.
- Ken Varnum
Information Technology & Libraries (ITAL) Journal Editor
The editors of the three Core journals have worked collaboratively to establish a road forward for the journals through creating and reviewing a request for proposals for hosting the journals on a unified platform, standardizing workflows, and making them all open access. While much work remains in the migration and for establishing cost sustainability, the Core Board is grateful to the journal editors for this immense undertaking on top of their normal responsibilities.
- Dennelle Wrightson
Core Library Interiors & Furniture Committee Co-chair
After nearly 35 years volunteering with ALA in some capacity, Denelle will be retiring after Core Forum 2023 where she will co-present Furniture & Materials: Tried, True, and What’s New! Throughout the years she has volunteered in LLAMA and now the Core Buildings & Operations Section, including the Architecture for Public Libraries Committee, Functional Space Requirements Past Committee Chair, Buildings & Operations Executive Committee, IFLA - ALA Building & Equipment Section Representative 2015-2019, and the Library Interiors & Furniture Committee & Chair 2011- 22023. She has led numerous Core preconference tours, including co-leading the 2023 Merchandise Mart Furniture Showrooms and Factory Tour. Throughout her career, she has given more than 50 presentations on library design topics and has specialized in the planning and design of libraries. As a recognized library design specialist, her experience includes more than 260 library facilities. We thank Denelle for her dedication to Core, ALA, and the library and design profession.