ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects
The ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects began as an ALA Presidential initiative of Dr. Loriene Roy, ALA President in 2007-2008 and Notable IRRT Member. Citations are awarded each year by the ALA President at the International Relations Round Table (IRRT) International Librarians Reception during the ALA Annual Conference to recognize innovative contributions to international librarianship. IRRT is a Round Table of the American Library Association with a mission to develop the interests of librarians in activities and problems in the field of international library relations.
In 2010, IRRT was invited to collaborate with future ALA Presidents in the nomination and award process. At this time, a decision was made to change the previous title, ALA Presidential Citation for International Innovation to ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.
Nomination Process
The International Relations Round Table invites you to submit nominations for innovative international library projects that qualify for the ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.
In an effort to recognize as many diverse and worthy projects as possible, a nominator can only submit one library project. Nominators must complete the Nomination Form and submit it to the International Relations Office by e-mail or regular mail. Distinct projects by an individual, group or organization may be nominated separately in the same year. However, it is unlikely that the Citation will be awarded to more than one of the projects. Past recipients of the ALA Presidential Citation for International Innovation may be considered only for new innovative projects. Citations recognize innovative projects that result from the work of an individual, group or organization.
Guidelines for selection of a project
- Nominations can be made by anyone. However, nomination by a member of the Citation and Reception Committee would be considered a conflict of interest.
- Only one library nomination per Library can be submitted.
- Projects that fall within the category of professional development for staff and librarians will not be considered. Beneficiaries of the projects must be library patrons only.
The following criteria will be used in selecting recipients
- The recipient will have designed, initiated, and implemented a highly visible innovative library service(s) in a country outside of the United States and within the last three years. The recipient may not be affiliated with a U.S. institution/agency and may not have received U.S. funds in a direct or indirect manner.
- The project should be unique, original, and improve services to library users.
- The project should draw attention to the potential of libraries to create positive change.
- The project must demonstrate a strong likelihood of sustainability and have potential to serve as a model for other libraries.
- The project must be current, that is, it must be in operation during the year that the Citation is awarded.
The deadline for nominations is March 15, 2026. Nominations are submitted to the ALA International Relations Office (e-mail: intl@ala.org) for review by the IRRT Citation and Reception Committee. Download information about this call for American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.
Award Process
The successful applicants will be informed of the committee’s decision by May 2026.
An invitation letter to attend the ALA International Librarians Reception and accept the citation will be issued to the successful nominations by the ALA International Relations Office.
Successful nominations will receive a framed citation from the current ALA President at the International Librarians Reception at the ALA Annual Conference. The Citations will be announced in various ways including through an announcement on the IRRT website and its publication, International Leads.
Funding to attend the ALA Conference is not provided and there is no financial award with the Citation. Recipients requiring assistance with letters of invitation or other documents related to attending the conference should contact the ALA International Relations Office.
Past Award Recipients
2024: Tech Central: NUS Libraries’ Integrated Technology-Enhanced Facility for Teaching and Learning - National University of Singapore Libraries Singapore.
2023: Open Lab Multimedia Center - National Central Library Taipei City, Taiwan; LikeSNU - Seoul National University Library, South Korea. (American Libraries, July 2023)
2022 International Librarians Reception in Washington, D.C.
The 2022 International Librarians Reception was held at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Great Hall
ALA President Patty Wong presented the 2022 President's Citation for Innovative International Library Projects to: La Bulle - Annemasse, France; Calligraphy Connections - Run Run Shaw Library - City University of Hong Kong. (American Libraries, July 2022)
2021: Caring Calls Project - South Shore Public Libraries, Nova Scotia, Canada; Lighthouse Heritage Research Connections - Run Run Shaw Library, City University of Hong Kong; VIRL Connect Team - Vancouver Island Regional Library; Virtual Library Info Lit Race Challenge - Nazarbayev University Library, Kazakhstan; Warm Up Week Initiative - Red River College Library, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (American Libraries, July 2021)
2020: Vancouver Island Regional Library’s Indigenous Voices Initiative – Canada; Journey Around the World in Guangzhou Library- China; Smartphone? Yes, Please! – Face-to-Face Training for Seniors, Public Library “Fran Galović” Koprivnica, Croatia; Igniting the Public’s Passion for Reading: The Taiwan Reading Festival, National Central Library. (American Libraries, July 2020)
2019 International Librarians Reception in Washington, D.C.
The 2019 International Librarians Reception was held at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Great Hall
ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo presents the 2019 President's Citation for Innovative International
Library Projects.. to: Biblioteca Pública Central Estatal for Sustainable Library, Mexico; Tor Browser in
Toronto Public Library, Toronto Canada; Libraries without Borders/Bibliothéques Sans Frantiéres,
Paris, France; Milton Public Liblrary, Ontario, Canada. (American Libraries, July 2019)
Thank you for joining us in D.C.! View pictures!
2018 International Librarians Reception in New Orleans, LA
The 2018 International Librarians Reception was held at the BB King's Blues Club . The 2018 winners of Bogle Pratt Award, Humphry/OCLC/Forest Award and the ALA President's Award for International Innovative Library Projects were recognized. Librarians from all over the world enjoyed networking.
2018: Darkht-e Danish
Online Library for the Women of Afghanistan, Calgary Canada, Digital Center enters
Mongolian Yurts, Inner Mongolia, China, La Biblioteca Movil, Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala,
Little Migratory Birds Project, Suzhou, China., Boggle Pratt and Humphry/OCLC/
Forest Award. (American Libraries, July 2018)
2017 International Librarians Reception in Chicago, IL
The 2017 International Librarians Reception was held at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, IL.
2017 Presidential Citation Awardees :Rural Internet Hotspot Lending
Programme Welington County Library Canada, Project FryskLab, Europe’s
First Mobile Library Leeuwarden, Netherlands, Augustana Human Library,
Alberta, Canada. (American Libraries, July 2017)
2016 International Librarians Reception in Orlando, FL
The 2016 International Librarians Reception was held at the Cuba Libre Restaurant in Orlando. The 2016 winners of Bogle Pratt Award, Humphry/OCLC/Forest Award and the ALA President's Award for International Innovative Library Projects were recognized. Thank you to all who attended!
View the rest of the images...The 2016 Citations were awarded to: The Cloud Service Project - Inner Mongolian Library; Nanaimo Correctional Centre Program; Vancouver Island and Regional Library - BC, Canada; Marroniers Library Application - International School of Geneva, Switzerland; Library @ orchard - National Library of Singapore; Librarians on the Radio - Vancouver Island Regional Library, BC, Canada. (American Libraries, July 2016)
2015 International Librarians' Reception at the San Francisco Public Library in San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Public Library hosted the International Librarians' Reception on June 29, 2015. A very special feature was the presentation of the ALA President's Award for International Innovative Library Projects.
The 2015 ALA IRRT Awards- President's Citation for Innovative International Library Projects and l to r. Robin Kear,
IRRT Chair, Jane Mirandette-John Ames/Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award, |NLB Mobile app by the National
Library Board of Singapore-Lee Kee Siang| Establishment of Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies (TRCCS)-
Dr. Dr. Chihfeng P. Lin,|Digital Literacy as a Core Service at Edmonton Public Library-Pilar Martinez, |The Science
and Technology Academicand Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosks (STARBOOKS) Project in the Philippines-
Raymund Liboro and Louise Ian T. De Los Reyes| ALA President Courtney Young, and the Chair of the International
Reception, Athena Michael
2015 International Librarians Reception photosThe 2015 Citations were awarded to: NLB Mobile app by the National Library Board of Singapore - Establishment of Taiwan Resource Center for Chinese Studies (TRCCS), Digital Literacy as a Core Service at Edmonton Public Library and The Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosks (STARBOOKS) Project in the Philippines.
2014 International Librarians' Reception at the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, NV
The 2014 IRRT International Librarians' Reception was held at the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas on June 30, 2014. A very special feature was the presentation of the ALA President's Award for International Innovative Library Projects.
The 2014 ALA President's Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.. l to r. representatives from The
Jagodina Public Library in Serbia and its five village library branches |The In-House Library Training Program
Supporting Roma People at the Public Library Fran Galovic,’Koprivnica in Croatia,| ALA President Barbara Stripling |
The Topic Room iPad Application at the ZLB Library, Berlin in Germany, |The Edge, State Library of Queensland in
Australia, and the Chair of the International Reception, Loida Garcia-Febo.
2013 International Librarians' Reception at the Harold Washington Atrium in Chicago, IL
The 2013 ALA President's Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.. l to r. The e-Books on Demand of the EOD European Libraries Network, ALA President Maureen Sullivan with OSU Children's Library Fund citation, AUN e-Library Project — American University of Nigeria accepting Amed Demirhan, IRRT Chair Loreine Roy who founded the ALA President's Citation.
2012 International Librarians' Reception at the Muzeo in Anaheim, CA
The 2012 IRRT International Librarians' Reception was held at the Muzeo on June 25, 2012.
The 2012 ALA President's Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.. l to r. The Urban Office — Helsinki City Library (Finland),The World is Just a Book Away (Projects in Indonesia), ALA President Molly Raphael, Chinese Medicine Digital Projects — Hong Kong Baptist University, Riecken Community Libraries (Projects in Guatemala and Honduras),
2011 International Librarians' Reception at the Generations Hall in New Orleans, LA
The 2011 IRRT International Librarians' Reception was held at the Generations Hall on June 27, 2011.
ALA Presidential Citation for International Innovative Library Projects Award Recipients for 2011
- Rise Videoconferencing Network - Michelle Toombs and Steven Pattison , Project Leaders
- Quest Library Reading Program. - Zulkifli Bin Amin, National Library Board of Singapore
- E-Publication System Platform Project - Pei-Lei Tsai, National Central Library of Taiwan
- Expanding Information Accesss for Visually Impaired People - Bac Nguyen and Matthijs Balfoort, FORCE
l.to r. Steven Pattison, Michelle Toombs, Roberta Stevens ALA President,
Pei-Lei Tsai, Matthijs Balfoort, Zulkifli Bin Amin, and Bac Nguyen 2011 recipients..
2010 International Librarians' Reception at the Library of Congress Great Hall in Washington, DC
The 2010 IRRT International Librarians' Reception was held at the Library of Congress Great Hall on June 28, 2010.
ALA Presidential Citation for International Innovative Library Projects Award Recipients for 2010
- The Fondation Connaissance et Liberté / Fondasyon Konesans Ak Libète (FOKAL) Community Libraries Initiative
- International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL)
- Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University’s Box Library Extension (ABLE)
- The Library Society of China’s National Library Volunteering Project
- World Digital Library (WDL)
Photo by Joan S. Weeks
l to r Erick Toussaint (FOKAL), Dr. Anne Weeks (ICDL), John Dixon (ABLE), Dr. James Billington,
Librarian of Congress, Bingsi Fan and Yulin Yang (Library Society of China), Dr. John Van Oudenaren (WDL)
2009 International Librarians' Reception in Chicago
The International Relations Round Table (IRRT) celebrated its 60th Anniversary with international librarians, from more than 80 countries, at the Harold Washington Library Atrium.
ALA Presidential Citation for International Innovation Award Recipients for 2009
- Hester J. Hodgdan Libraries for All Program - Jane Mirandette, President
- Lubuto Library Project, Inc. - Jane Kinney Meyers, President
- Tongji University Library - Dr. Jinhau Shen, Library Director
Photo by Sha Li Zhang The 2009 Citations
2008 International Librarians' Reception in Anaheim
The International Librarians Reception was held at the MUZEO, a new museum complex of the arts and culture. Its front entrance is the former Anaheim Public Library, built in 1908. Open to all conference attendees, but free to International Librarians outside the U.S., this reception offered a unique opportunity to network with hundreds of information professionals from around the world. Participants found a mixing of culture and ideas, regional cuisine, hors d'oeuvres and open bar. The 2008 Citations were awarded to: Asociación Mexicana de Bibliotecarios, A. C. (AMBAC), Dongguan Public Library in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province in China, Ethiopia Reads ? IFLA Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section, Library & Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA), Room to Read, Te Ropu Whakahau; Maori in Libraries and Information Management
2007 International Reception-Pictures
All photos courtesy of Mitch Freedman
Please tag the photos with names or comments.
2007 International Reception-Video
By American Libraries Magazine
