Joe Janes wins RUSA Isadore Gilbert Mudge–R.R. Bowker Award

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For Immediate Release


March 7, 2006

Joe Janes wins RUSA Isadore Gilbert Mudge–R.R. Bowker Award

CHICAGO -Joseph W. Janes, associate professor and associate dean for academics, The Information School, University of Washington, Seattle, is the recipient of the 2006 Isadore Gilbert Mudge-R.R. Bowker Award presented by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

The award of $5,000 and a citation, donated by R.R. Bowker, recognizes distinguished contributions to reference librarianship. The honor is named for Isadore Gilbert Mudge who was a reference librarian, a bibliographer at Columbia University in New York and author of the 1917 revision of the “Guide to the Study and Use of Reference Books.”

“Joe Janes is an innovative author, speaker, and teacher who focuses on the current state of and the future of reference services, ” said Jerilyn Marshall, award committee chair. “His thought-provoking articles, books, and presentations often clarify reference services and urge librarians to redesign services to meet the needs of today's library clientele.”

Janes was the founding director of the Internet Public Library, which has served as a training ground for generations of digital reference librarians. Janes also is the "Internet Librarian" columnist for
American Libraries.

“The award committee chose Joe Janes for his distinguished and exceptional continuing contributions to the field of reference librarianship,” Marshall stated.

The award will be presented at RUSA Awards Ceremony on June 26, 2006, from 4 to 6 p.m., during the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.