Nomination period for most RUSA achievement awards closes Dec. 15

Contact: Liz Markel


Marketing Specialist, RUSA/ASCLA


(312) 280-4398


lmarkel@ala.org

NEWS


For Immediate Release


December 1, 2009

CHICAGO—The
Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) offers many annual achievement awards in the areas represented by its membership, and the nomination period for most 2010 awards will be closing Dec. 15, 2009.




The association, representing information service professionals in reference, collection development, readers advisory, genealogy, resource sharing and many other related fields, is accepting nominations for the following 2010 awards to be presented at next summer’s
ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.:


Awards for Individuals and Groups for Professional Achievement

• The
  
  Zora Neale Hurston Award honors an individual RUSA member who has demonstrated leadership in promoting African American literature.
• The
  
  Virginia Boucher/OCLC Distinguished ILL Librarian Award is given to an individual for his or her outstanding professional achievement, leadership, and contributions to interlibrary loan and document delivery.
• The
  
  Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award recognizes a librarian who has made significant contributions to library adult services.
• The
  
  Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services is given to a library or library system for developing an imaginative and unique resource to meet patrons' reference needs.
• The
  
  John Sessions Memorial Award recognizes a library or library system which has made a significant effort to work with the labor community and by doing so has brought recognition to the history and contribution of the labor movement to the development of the United States.
• The
  
  Louis Shores/ABC-CLIO Award recognizes an individual reviewer, group, editor, review medium or organization for excellence in book reviewing and other media for libraries.
• The
  
  Genealogical Publishing Company Award is presented to a librarian, library or publisher who is a RUSA member, and recognizes professional achievement in historical reference and research librarianship.
• The
  
  Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award honors an individual who has made a distinguished contribution to reference librarianship.
• The
  
  Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to business librarianship.

Travel Grants to ALA Annual Conference

• The
  
  BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award presents $1,000 to a student enrolled in an
  ALA accredited master's degree program to fund travel the ALA Annual Conference.
• The
  
  BRASS Public Librarian Support Award , sponsored by Morningstar, Inc., offers $1,000 to support the attendance at Annual Conference of a public librarian who has performed outstanding business reference service and who requires financial assistance to attend the conference.
• The
  
  STARS Atlas Systems Mentoring Award offers $1,000 to fund Annual Conference travel expenses for a library practitioner who is new to the field of interlibrary loan/document delivery or electronic reserves, and who has daily, hands-on involvement in the areas of borrowing, lending, document delivery, electronic reserves, material delivery, or resource sharing.

In addition, the

BRASS Emerald Research Grant consists of two $5,000 awards presented to individuals seeking support to conduct research in business librarianship. The deadline to apply for one of these grants is Dec. 30, 2009.


More information about these awards, including nominating instructions, can be found at the
RUSA Awards webpage. Questions about these awards should be directed to the committee chairperson—a list of committees and contact information is available at the
RUSA website—or to the RUSA headquarters staff.




The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Not a member, but interested in discounted registration rates on conference, preconferences and other events? Join, renew or add RUSA to your ALA membership at
www.ala.org/membership. Learn more about the association at
www.ala.org/rusa.