Academic/Research Librarian of the Year announced
Contact: Mary Ellen Davis
312-280-3248
ALA News Release
For Immediate Release
February 2001
Academic/Research Librarian of the Year announced
Larry Hardesty, college librarian at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, is the 2001 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Academic/Research Librarian of the Year. The award, sponsored by YBP Library Services, recognizes an outstanding member of the library profession who has made a significant national or international contribution to academic research librarianship and library development.
"The breadth of Dr. Hardesty's publications over the years has made an impact on academic librarianship," Committee Chair, Charles Peguese said. "Many of his publications have become standards in the field. In addition, his creation of and continued involvement in the College Library Directors' Mentor program over the last eight years have been an unqualified success." To date, more than 200 librarians have participated in the College Library Directors' Mentor Program as either first-year directors or mentors.
Hardesty has demonstrated his leadership qualities throughout his dedicated service to the academic library profession. A life member of the American Library Association (ALA), he has served as president of the Florida Chapter of ACRL (1986-1988); chair of the College Libraries Section (CLS) 1995-1996; as a member of the ACRL Board of Directors (1987-1991, 1999-2001); and as ACRL president (1999-2000). Hardesty is a founder and director of the College Library Directors' Mentor Program (1991-present). In 1999, he conceived and established the ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, the first ACRL award to celebrate institutional excellence.
The selection committee also recognized Hardesty's impressive publication record. Recent publications include, "Reflections on 25 Years of Library Instruction: Have We Made Progress?" (
Reference Services Review, 1999),
Bibliographic Instruction in Practice: Dedicated to the Legacy of Evan Farber(Pierian Press, 1993) and
Faculty and the Library: The Undergraduate Experience (Ablex Publishing, 1991). He is also the author of "Bibliographic Instruction and Faculty Culture," Library Trends 44 (Fall 1995), which received the ACRL Instruction Section Publication of the Year Award in 1996.
Hardesty has served on several editorial boards, including
Portals (2000-present),
The Journal of Academic Librarianship (1997-1999),
Collection Management (1988-1995),
College & Research Libraries News (2000-present) and
College & Research Libraries (1990-1996).
Hardesty received his bachelor's and master's in education from Kearney State College. He earned his master's in library science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and received his master's in instructional systems technology and his doctorate in library science from Indiana University. He served as head of the reference department at DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind., from 1975 to 1983, and as director of libraries at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Fla., from 1983 to 1995. He joined the faculty of Austin College as college librarian in 1995.
Hardesty will receive a cash award of $3,000 and a citation at a ceremony reception to be held on Monday, June 18, during the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. The reception is sponsored by YBP Library Services.
ACRL, the largest division of the ALA, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching and research.
