New ALCTS award honors Lois Mai Chan

For Immediate Release
Wed, 04/12/2017

Contact:

Keri Cascio

Executive Director

Association for Library Collections & Technical Services

kcascio@ala.org

CHICAGO—The Cataloging and Metadata Management Section (CaMMS) of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is very pleased to announce a new award honoring the career and influence of Lois Mai Chan, distinguished leader, author and mentor in the field of metadata creation and standards.

The Lois Mai Chan Professional Development Grant is awarded to provide librarians and paraprofessionals from under-represented groups new to the metadata field with the opportunity to attend a professional conference and encourages professional development through active participation at the national level. The grant consists of a citation and $1,000 cash and an individual registration for the ALA Annual Conference donated by Netanel Ganin. The grant is applicable towards airfare, lodging, and other ticketed events related to ALA Annual Conference attendance. The grant will be presented during the American Library Association Annual Conference each year at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony and Membership Meeting.

“We are fortunate in ALCTS that our members, such as Netanel Ganin, seek out ways to give back to the profession and our association,” said ALCTS president Vicki Sipe. “In creating the Lois Mai Chan Professional Development Grant, he honors Chan’s career of exceptional service by providing a career-building opportunity to librarians and paraprofessionals of under-represented groups. His generosity enriches us all.”

For over four decades, Chan was instrumental in the development of standards and best practices, writing over sixty scholarly articles and outstanding text books on cataloging and classification. She was a member of the American Library Association since 1960, serving on numerous committees including the Subject Analysis Committee, the International Relations Committee and the executive Committee of the Cataloging and Classification Section. Chan was the 1989 recipient of the Margaret Mann Citation, the highest honor in cataloging bestowed by the American Library Association, and the 2006 recipient of the Beta Phi Mu Award, presented to a library school faculty member or to an individual for distinguished service to education in librarianship. This grant recognizes Chan’s wide ranging contributions and deep commitment to the field of library cataloging and classification.

CaMMS had previously an established award recognizing librarians for outstanding contributions to cataloging or classification in their career. However, it is important to encourage under-represented librarians and staff to further pursue their professional development. A significant part of that involvement is to attend the ALA Annual Conference in order to network and learn from their colleagues. Chan spent decades developing young librarians as a faculty member at the University of Kentucky. It is in recognition of that service that CaMMS creates an award that supports professional development and involvement by under-represented librarians and paraprofessionals in the metadata field.

The first grant will be awarded in 2018, with an application process to open in fall 2017.

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is the national association for information providers who work in collections and technical services, such as acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, preservation and continuing resources in digital and print formats. ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association.