ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award
This award recognizes academic librarians and staff who work together as a team to develop academic libraries that are outstanding in furthering the educational missions of their institutions.
About
First awarded in 2000, the Excellence in Academic Libraries award recognizes academic and research libraries outstanding in the field. This distinguished award has categories for Community and Junior College Libraries, College Libraries, University Libraries, and Non-Degree Granting or Other Research Libraries.
From 2000-2021, this award included a variety of sponsors (ACRL, Blackwell's Book Services, EBSCO, and YBP Library Services) for a $3000 cash prize to recipients, designed to fund a recipient's hosted award ceremony. After a hiatus from 2022-2025, the award was relaunched in 2026. Monetary prizes are no longer a component for any ACRL professional recognition award.
Nominations for the 2027 ACRL Awards will open in Fall 2026.
Administered by:
Categories:
Professional Recognition Information
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
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Flathead Valley Community College Library
2026 - Winner(s) “The Library at Flathead Valley Community College has outstanding collaborations with internal campus units and external community partners, all in support of the Flathead Valley... |
2026 - Winner(s) |
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University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press
2026 - Winner(s) “The University of Delaware Library has impressive initiatives underway, including with AI, intensive data analysis, first year students and undergraduate research initiatives, intellectual freedom programming... |
2026 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
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Davidson College
2021 - Winner(s) “The E.H. Little Library has demonstrated how their expertise, programming, and resources support and enhance the strategic priorities of the college. Of particular note, the... |
2021 - Winner(s) |
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Loyola Marymount University
2021 - Winner(s) “The William H. Hannon Library demonstrated a clear case of initiatives that bolster the institution’s mission, in particular encouraging learning, educating the whole person, and... |
2021 - Winner(s) |
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Tulsa Community College
2021 - Winner(s) “The TCC Library demonstrated a strategic approach of developing strong partnerships with other offices across the institution to further TCC’s educational mission and student support... |
2021 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
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University of Maryland
2020 - Winner(s) “The University of Maryland Libraries stand out amongst their peers for the development of a robust library staff culture of innovation, as well as their... |
2020 - Winner(s) |
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Santa Rosa Junior College
2020 - Winner(s) “Santa Rosa Junior College Libraries presented a compelling story of learning services and programs that serve the faculty, staff, and students of their institution,” noted... |
2020 - Winner(s) |
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Nevada State College
2020 - Winner(s) “The culture of the Marydean Martin Library and the commitment of library leadership to providing space and opportunities for their staff to engage in team... |
2020 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
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Case Western Reserve University
2019 - Winner(s) “The Kelvin Smith Library partners to solve community problems and applies what they do to solve problems within their own community,” said Herold. “As quoted... |
2019 - Winner(s) |
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The College of Western Idaho
2019 - Winner(s) “The College of Western Idaho is a college and library that did not exist ten years ago. Now, this library provides a model of best... |
2019 - Winner(s) |
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Swarthmore College
2019 - Winner(s) “The social justice theme that infused all of the work presented in Swarthmore College’s materials made them a standout, exemplifying their team approach and thoughtful... |
2019 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
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State University of New York (SUNY), College at Geneseo
2018 - Winner(s) “A strong commitment to open access to scholarship and educational resources, their Summer Library Research Academy, and work with local high schools, along with great... |
2018 - Winner(s) |
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Naugatuck Valley Community College
2018 - Winner(s) “The wealth of innovation taking place at the Traurig Library, such as circulating guitars, their revision of instruction based on assessment, and their close partnerships... |
2018 - Winner(s) |
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Virginia Commonwealth University
2018 - Winner(s) “From their many events and partnerships to scholarly publishing and information literacy initiatives and a strong commitment to the arts, along with their innovative digital... |
2018 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dade College Learning Resources
2017 - Winner(s) “The Learning Resources department at Miami Dade is dedicated to the success of its highly diverse, global student body of more than 165,000,” said Karen... |
2017 - Winner(s) | |
| Santa Clara University Library
2017 - Winner(s) “The committee was impressed by Santa Clara University Library’s intentional, user-centered and data-driven approach to their services, collections, and spaces,” said Williams. “The library staff... |
2017 - Winner(s) | |
| Columbia College Chicago Library
2017 - Winner(s) “Columbia College Chicago Library is a very different kind of college library,” noted Williams. “It is reflective of student culture, and creativity, experimentation, and innovative... |
2017 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Hudson County Community College Library
2016 - Winner(s) “Hudson County Community College Library staff demonstrated a clear focus on students through their active social media outreach, inclusion of students on their advisory board... |
2016 - Winner(s) | |
| Macalester College DeWitt Wallace Library
2016 - Winner(s) “Macalester College impressed the committee with its use of data gathered from various assessment initiatives, including an ethnographic study, to drive their progress, leading to... |
2016 - Winner(s) | |
| Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
2016 - Winner(s) “While many of us are challenged by relationships with one group of administrators, faculty, and students, the Atlanta University Center manages to effectively support the... |
2016 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Purdue University Libraries
2015 - Winner(s) “Purdue University Libraries succeeds by being experimental, taking risks, innovating and leveraging collaboration with their faculty, graduate and undergraduate students to push the boundaries of... |
2015 - Winner(s) | |
| Amherst College Libraries
2015 - Winner(s) “Amherst’s Frost Library emerged as a clear example of what it means to hold oneself to high standards and to set the bar even higher... |
2015 - Winner(s) | |
| Santa Fe College Lawrence W. Tyree Library
2015 - Winner(s) “The Lawrence Tyree Library demonstrated how their staff brings creativity and innovation to their community,” said Steven Bell, chair of the 2015 Excellence in Academic... |
2015 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Illnois Central College Library
2014 - Winner(s) “Illinois Central is being recognized for an emphasis on students who are disadvantaged and not strong readers, finding approaches to raise the students' odds of... |
2014 - Winner(s) | |
| Lafayette College Skillman Library
2014 - Winner(s) “Lafayette College seeks to be a model for other colleges and has been in the forefront on getting grants and experimenting with digital scholarship in... |
2014 - Winner(s) | |
| Cal Poly State University Robert E. Kennedy Library
2014 - Winner(s) “Cal Poly State University library uses a thematic approach in their application, documenting their emphasis on being open, inclusive and connected,” said Ogburn. “Their ideas... |
2014 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Villanova University Falvey Memorial Library
2013 - Winner(s) |
2013 - Winner(s) | |
| Rollins College Olin Library
2013 - Winner(s) “Underscoring its centrality to the campus, Olin Library’s renovated library space, well-designed to meet user needs and well-used, served as a place of comfort and... |
2013 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Central Community College Library,
2012 - Winner(s) |
2012 - Winner(s) | |
| Champlain College Library
2012 - Winner(s) |
2012 - Winner(s) | |
| Grand Valley State University Libraries
2012 - Winner(s) |
2012 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| The Luria Library
2011 - Winner(s) “The selection committee was impressed with the library’s commitment to student learning and library outreach to the community,” said Erika Linke, chair of the 2011...
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2011 - Winner(s) | |
| Grinnell College Libraries
2011 - Winner(s) “The Burling Library customized the ACRL information literacy standards to create a focused, coherent and successful information literacy instruction program,” Linke noted. “The...
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2011 - Winner(s) | |
| Z. Smith Reynolds Library
2011 - Winner(s) “The selection committee was impressed with the strong alignment of the library to institutional values and ambitions as evidence through the variety of programs developed...
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2011 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana University Bloomington
2010 - Winner(s) |
2010 - Winner(s) | |
| Elmhurst College
2010 - Winner(s) |
2010 - Winner(s) | |
| Bucks County Community College
2010 - Winner(s) |
2010 - Winner(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Moraine Valley Community College Library
2009 - Recipient(s) See their Application (PDF). |
2009 - Recipient(s) | |
| Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University
2009 - Recipient(s) See their Application (PDF) |
2009 - Recipient(s) | |
| University of Minnesota Libraries
2009 - Recipient(s) See their Application (PDF) |
2009 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Pasadena City College
2008 - Recipient(s) |
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| McMaster University
2008 - Recipient(s) |
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| Carleton College
2008 - Recipient(s) |
2008 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia Institute of Technology
2007 - Recipient(s) |
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| Trinity University
2007 - Recipient(s) |
2007 - Recipient(s) | |
| Hostos Community College/CUNY
2007 - Recipient(s) |
2007 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Rochester Institute of Technology
2006 - Recipient(s) |
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| Augustana College
2006 - Recipient(s) |
2006 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| University of Virgina
2005 - Recipient(s) |
2005 - Recipient(s) | |
| Mount Holyoke College
2005 - Recipient(s) |
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| Pierce College
2005 - Recipient(s) |
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| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Richland College
2004 - Recipient(s) |
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| University of Washington
2004 - Recipient(s) |
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| Hope College
2004 - Recipient(s) |
2004 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Loyola University New Orleans
2003 - Recipient(s) |
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| Baruch College
2003 - Recipient(s) |
2003 - Recipient(s) | |
| City College of San Francisco
2003 - Recipient(s) |
2003 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Cornell University Library
2002 - Recipient(s) |
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| Oberlin College Library
2002 - Recipient(s) |
2002 - Recipient(s) | |
| Anne Arundel Community College
2002 - Recipient(s) |
2002 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| University of Arizona
2001 - Recipient(s) |
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| Earlham College
2001 - Recipient(s) |
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| Austin Community College
2001 - Recipient(s) |
2001 - Recipient(s) |
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State University Libraries
2000 - Recipient(s) |
2000 - Recipient(s) | |
| Wellesley College
2000 - Recipient(s) |
2000 - Recipient(s) | |
| The College of DuPage Library
2000 - Recipient(s) |
2000 - Recipient(s) |
The award is open to:
- Community and Junior College Libraries – Libraries and learning resource centers in two-year institutions, offering two-year degrees, associate degrees, adult education, and certifications.
- College Libraries – Libraries primarily within baccalaureate degree-granting institutions. Four-year degree programs are prominent, although a small number of master’s or doctoral level degrees may be offered.
- University Libraries – Libraries within universities that offer baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
- Non-Degree Granting / Other Research Libraries – Libraries within institutions or organizations with significant research and educational missions, where the institution or organization does not offer formal degrees.
Demonstrate how academic librarians and staff work together to develop an academic library that is outstanding in advancing the mission of its parent institution. Libraries should demonstrate excellence through one or more of the following criteria. Applicants do not necessarily need to demonstrate excellence in all of these categories for consideration.
- Advancement of Institutional Mission: Demonstrates a deep understanding of the institution's mission, values, and strategic goals, with evidence of how the library advances these.
- Impact: Demonstrates work that is connected to successfully meeting needs of stakeholders. Impacts may be ongoing or short-term.
- Initiative: Demonstrates leadership in developing and implementing exemplary programs within the scope of institutional missions and resources.
- Innovation: Demonstrates creativity and resourcefulness in meeting the needs of their community.
- Collaboration: Demonstrates that achievements are the result of a collaborative approach in which the library’s successes are the result of teamwork.
Electronic submissions through the online nomination form are required. Supporting documents to accompany the nomination form may include:
- Letters of support - from stakeholders outside of the submitting library/institution.
- Images to support the submission (e.g., charts, graphs, or promotional materials).
Certificate of recognition
This award is administered by the ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award Committee.
