For immediate release | February 20, 2026
2026 Jesse H. Shera Award for the Support of Dissertation Research
The Library Research Round Table is pleased to announce the 2026 Jesse H. Shera Award for the Support of Dissertation Research:
Examining the Enactment of School Librarian Leadership Practices using Distributed Leadership Theory: A Mixed Methods Study
Deeth Ellis, Simmons University
The award jury praised Ellis’s masterful explanation of the theoretical focus, research design, procedures, and proposed analysis. They appreciated the mixed-method design and strong theoretical foundation for the dissertation. Dr. Melanie Kimball, Ellis’s dissertation committee chair, recommended her for the award saying, “Deeth’s dissertation explores an important, and under-researched area, examining the leadership role of school librarians through the lens of Distributed Leadership Theory.” Ellis’s work received the highest average score in this year’s competition. LRRT celebrates the quality all of this year’s entries and looks forward to an exciting future for LIS research.
The winner has been invited to present on her dissertation at the LRRT Chair’s program at the ALA Annual Conference:
LRRT Chair's Program Celebrating 50 Years of Jesse H. Shera Awards
Saturday June 27, 2026
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
2026 Jurors Dissertation Award Jurors
- Paula Dempsey, LRRT Chair, Associate Professor / Reference Librarian, University of Illinois Chicago
- Jennifer Goodland, LRRT Executive Committee Member-at-Large, Technical Services Librarian, San Juan College
- Karen Harker, LRRT Immediate Past-Chair, Collection Assessment Librarian, University of North Texas
- Agnes Pearcy, Assistant Professor/Interim Associate Dean, North Carolina Central University
- Giovanna Badia, Assessment Librarian, McGill University
