Grassian receives 2014 ACRL/IS Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award

For Immediate Release
Tue, 02/04/2014

Contact:

Chase Ollis

Program Coordinator

ACRL

collis@ala.org

CHICAGO – Esther Stampfer Grassian, distinguished librarian (emerita), University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) College Library, is the winner of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Instruction Section’s (IS) Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award. The award honors Miriam Dudley, whose efforts in the field of information literacy led to the formation of IS. The honor recognizes a librarian who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of instruction in a college or research library environment.

Grassian will receive her $1,000 award, along with a plaque, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 29, 2014, during the IS program at the ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

“Esther Grassian’s deep impact on the field of information literacy has been sustained over the length of her distinguished career, including 41 years as a librarian in the UCLA College Library,” said IS Miriam Dudley Award Chair Susan Miller, visiting librarian at Illinois Wesleyan University. “Grassian’s contributions span all areas of librarianship. She is nationally recognized for her leadership, teaching, writing and presenting in the area of information literacy instruction and advocacy.

“Grassian’s extensive service to the profession ranges from local to international in scope, and includes work with the California Clearinghouse on Library Instruction, ALA, ACRL, IS, LIRT, REFORMA and the European Conference on Information Literacy,” noted Miller. “The Instruction Section is pleased to honor Esther Grassian, who has made an especially significant contribution to the advancement of instruction in academic libraries.”

Her numerous publications include the IS award-winning book “Information Literacy Instruction: Theory and Practice” (2001, 2nd edition 2009) and “Learning to Lead and Manage Information Literacy Instruction” (2005), as well as the “Information Literacy Instruction” article for the third edition of “The Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science” (2010), all co-authored with Joan R. Kaplowitz.  Grassian has influenced a generation of future librarians by teaching at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (1990-present), and serving as guest lecturer for both the Drexel University and University of Hawaii library schools. 

Grassian received her M.L.S. in Library Service and her B.A in Hebrew from the University of California, Los Angeles.

For more information regarding the ACRL IS Miriam Dudley Instruction Librarian Award, or a complete list of past recipients, please visit the awards section of the ACRL website.

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The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for librarians. Representing more than 11,500 academic and research librarians and interested individuals, ACRL (a division of the American Library Association) is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to help academic and research librarians learn, innovate and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning and transforming scholarship. ACRL is on the Web at www.acrl.org/, Facebook at www.facebook.com/ala.acrl and Twitter at @ala_acrl.