2009 Dartmouth Medal winner represents future of reference
Contact: Liz Markel
Marketing Specialist, RUSA/ASCLA
(312) 280-4398
NEWS
For Immediate Release
February 3, 2009
DENVER—The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced its selection for the 2009 Dartmouth Medal.
The Dartmouth Medal recognizes the most outstanding and significant reference work of the year. For 2009, the award committee selected Greenwood’s “
Pop Culture Universe,” which presents material from more than 300 sources with a clear and fun interface and state-of-the-art interactive features. This user-centered resource includes a blog on its home page and welcomes input wiki-style. Pop Culture Universe is the first electronic recipient of the Dartmouth Medal.
The honorable mention selection, “The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe,” edited by Gershon David Hundert and published by Yale University Press, epitomizes the best qualities of traditional reference. Based on exhaustive multi-lingual research, including work in recently opened archives, it definitively documents a rich cultural heritage. Â
The winners were selected by the Dartmouth Medal Committee, whose members include Chair Jeff Schwartz, Santa Monica Public Library; Cynthia Crosser, University of Maine; Asia Gross, Missouri Library Network; Helene Lafrance, Santa Clara University; Sue Polanka, Wright State University; and Robyn Rosenberg, University of Texas.
The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, 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. For more information, visit www.ala.org/rusa.
