Libutti named 2007 ACRL/EBSS Distinguished Librarian

Contact: Megan Griffin

ACRL Program Coordinator

mgriffin@ala.org

For Immediate Release

February 22, 2007

Libutti named 2007 ACRL/EBSS Distinguished Librarian

CHICAGO – Dr. Patricia O’Brien Libutti, social sciences/education librarian emerita at Rutgers University Libraries, has been chosen to receive the 2007 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) Distinguished Education & Behavioral Sciences Librarian Award. This award honors a distinguished academic librarian who has made an outstanding contribution as an education and/or behavioral sciences librarian through accomplishments and service to the profession.

“Dr. Patricia Libutti has made significant contributions to the field of education and behavioral sciences librarianship, most notably through her mentoring of librarians new to the field or beginning the research and publication process,” said award committee chair Nancy P. O’Brien, head of the Education and Social Sciences Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Her enthusiastic leadership has been evident in EBSS as well as the Education Division of the Special Libraries Association. She has served as chair of both organizations, and held additional leadership positions in those and other professional associations.

“Dr. Libutti has published extensively, notably collaborating with other librarians and teaching faculty to produce case studies and other articles that address digital information, library practice, and information literacy,” said O’Brien. “Her numerous presentations also reflect a focus on the librarian as both learner and teacher in the digital environment. With active participation in national and regional library associations, she demonstrates professional involvement, leadership and mentoring at all levels. Dr. Libutti’s publication record in education and the behavioral sciences, the testimony from new and mid-career librarians of her support, mentoring and encouragement, and her participation in professional associations make her a worthy recipient of this award.”

Libutti received her B.A. in art education from Seton Hill College in 1966. She earned her M.Ed. in art education from the Tyler Art School at Temple University in 1970, and her Ph.D. in educational psychology from Temple University in 1978. She received her M.L.S. from Rutgers University in 1988.

A prize of $1,000 and a plaque, donated by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., will be presented to Libutti during the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Washington at the EBSS Program on Saturday, June 23, 2007, at 1:30 p.m.

ACRL is a division of the American Library Association, representing 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments.