ALCTS’ Piercy Award to Annie Peterson

CHICAGO — The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) named Annie Peterson, Preservation Services Librarian at LYRASIS, the winner of the 2016 Esther J. Piercy Award. The award will be presented on Saturday, June 25 at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony during the 2016 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, FL.

Peterson has made significant contributions to technical services activities, most notably through her service to the profession and in the application of preservation theory to real-world practice. As our profession is increasingly examining opportunities to have an impact ‘at-scale’, Peterson’s leadership of the IMLS “Strategic Planning for Collaborative Preservation Services” grant has borne fruit in New Orleans and emerged as a national model for cities and states looking to diagnose and address their preservation needs. As a new professional, Peterson turned her knowledge into real-world impact at UCLA, Yale, Tulane and the New Orleans region. This impact extends beyond her job, reflecting a broader interest in collaborative action and direct engagement in the educational efforts that impact the profession. At the time of her nomination, Peterson’s career included three publications, eleven presentations to both national and international conferences and service as an instructor for ALCTS’ “Fundamentals of Preservation” course.

Peterson’s nomination also stands as testament to the role that young professionals may have on their professional association. She assumed leadership roles in ALCTS normally reserved for individuals far beyond her years, demonstrating exceptional leadership in two of the Preservation and Reformatting Section’s principal offices. In 2014, Peterson received a Presidential Citation from ALCTS for her work toward reestablishing a preservation statistics program considered vital to many in that part of the profession.

Prior to assuming her current position, Peterson served as the preservation librarian at Tulane University’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library where she worked to rebuild preservation programs following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Previous professional positons include serving as the IMLS Preservation Administration Fellow at Yale’s Sterling Memorial Library. She holds an M.S. in Library Science and from UIUC, a Midwest Book and Manuscript Studies Certificate in Special Collections from UIUC and a B.A. from the University of Connecticut.

Through her professional service, stewardship of grants and support of outreach and engagement activities, Peterson shares her expertise with our community and exhibits all the qualities represented by the Piercy Award. The Piercy Award was established by ALCTS in 1968 in memory of Esther J. Piercy, editor of “Journal of Cataloging and Classification” from 1950 to 1956 and of “Library Resources & Technical Services” from 1957 to 1967. The Piercy Award recognizes the contributions to those areas of librarianship included in library collections and technical services by a librarian with no more than 10 years of professional experience who has shown outstanding promise for continuing contribution and leadership. The recipient receives a $1,500 grant donated by YBP, Inc., and a citation in recognition of their accomplishments.

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.