Brian Schottlaender wins 2015 Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award
For Immediate Release
Tue, 02/17/2015
CHICAGO — Brian Schottlaender, Audrey Geisel university librarian at the University of California-San Diego, has been named the 2015 winner of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award. Schottalender will receive a cash award and citation during the 2015 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco.
Named in honor of one of the pioneers of library automation, the Atkinson Award recognizes an academic librarian who has made significant contributions in the area of library automation or management, and has made notable improvements in library services or research.
“Brian is a visionary giant in the Hugh Atkinson mold,” said Nancy J. Gibbs, Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award committee chair and former head of the Acquisitions Department at Duke University. “He has eloquently articulated a vision for the 21st century academic library while finding balance with the need for physical resources, services, staff, and space. He understands we must work collaboratively in order to address the most challenging concerns facing libraries today. The Hugh Atkinson Award recognizes risk taking as a value in library management and Brian has demonstrated taking calculated risks that have proven transformational for libraries. This is evident in just a few of the initiatives he has shepherded: the Western Regional Storage Trust (WEST); Hathi Trust, Pacific Rim Digital Library Alliance, and Chronopolis, an effort in extensible digital preservation.”
“Brian has served as president of ALA/ALCTS and is currently the ALA Councilor from that division,” continued Gibbs. “He has served as president of the Association of Research Libraries and has recently been elected chair of the new Board of Governors of the Hathi Trust. In each instance Brian has brought his commitment to the library community, helping to restructure and provide a vision for the future, shaping ideas into outcomes. His commitment to academic libraries, scholarly research and the library community as a whole are truly impressive. He can always be counted on to provide leadership, collaboration, and a keen understanding of the shifts occurring today as libraries address solutions to shared problems for the future.”
Schottlaender received his B.A. in German Literature from the University of Texas-Austin, cum laude, and his M.L.S. from Indiana University. He has also received the Margaret Mann Citation (2001), the Ross Atkinson Lifetime Achievement Award (2007) and the Melvil Dewey Award (2010). Schottlaender is the first person to receive both Atkinson awards from ALA.
The Hugh C. Atkinson Award is jointly sponsored by four divisions of the American Library Association: the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA). The award is funded from an endowment established to honor Hugh C. Atkinson.
Donations to the endowment may be sent to Chase Ollis, ACRL, 50 East Huron St., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
For more information regarding the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award, or a complete list of past recipients, please visit the awards section of the ACRL website.
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About ACRL
The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for librarians. Representing more than 11,000 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.
About ALCTS
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, metadata, collection management, preservation, electronic and continuing resources.
About LITA
Established in 1966, the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) is the leading organization reaching out across types of libraries to provide education and services for a broad membership of systems librarians, library administrators, library schools, vendors and all others interested in leading edge technology and applications for librarians and information providers. Visit LITA at www.lita.org , Twitter at ALA_LITA @ALA_LITA, Facebook at www.facebook.com/LITA.ALA, and/or the LITA Blog at http://litablog.org.
About LLAMA
The mission of the Library Leadership and Management Association (www.ala.org/llama) is to encourage and nurture current and future library leaders, and to develop and promote outstanding leadership and management practices. LLAMA is a division of the American Library Association.