Elmborg and Hook win 2007 ACRL Instruction Section Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year award

Contact: Megan Griffin

ACRL Program Coordinator

312-280-2514

mgriffin@ala.org

For Immediate Release

February 13, 2007

Elmborg and Hook win 2007 ACRL Instruction Section

Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year award

CHICAGO - James K. Elmborg, associate professor, School of Library and Information Science at the University of Iowa, and Sheril Hook, coordinator of Instructional Services at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, have been chosen as the winners of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Instruction Section (IS) Ilene F. Rockman Publication of the Year Award for their book, “Centers for Learning: Writing Centers and Libraries in Collaboration, Publications in Librarianship #58.”

This annual award honors Ilene F. Rockman's professional contributions to academic librarianship in the area of information literacy. The award recognizes an outstanding publication related to instruction in a library environment published in the preceding two years.

Emerald Group Publishing Limited, sponsor of the award, will present the $3,000 award and plaque during the 2007 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Washington D.C. at the IS program on Sunday, June 24, 2007, at 1:30 p.m.

“Considered as a whole, “Centers for Learning” represents a cogent, original unification of theory with multifaceted practice,” said Kathleen Gallagher, IS awards committee chair. “Elmborg and Hook have assembled a compelling case not only for treating research and writing as a holistic process, but for leveraging the unique strengths of writing centers and information literacy programs to improve student mastery of the process.”

The publication provides an in-depth look at a particular collaboration that promises to significantly enrich information literacy theory and related instructional practices. Building in part on the literature of the1990s that explored the relationship between bibliographic instruction, composition pedagogy, and their respective programming models, “Centers for Learning” reflects the maturing of theory and practice that has occurred in both domains in the context of more than a decade’s change in higher education.

Part One, written by Elmborg and Hook, lays a solid foundation for Library/Writing Center partnerships in the shared theories and common practices of instruction librarians and writing instructors. It also establishes the framework within which to consider the case studies that make up Part Two of the book. These uniformly strong contributions, many co-authored by librarians and writing center directors, articulate logical points of collaboration and highlight successes without concealing the difficulties inherent in reaching across campus units. The editors’ insistence on real world partnerships avoids the oversimplifications of the “how-to” genre in favor of showcasing the diversity of practice that can grow from seeds of shared purpose.

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.