Baker and Dube awarded ALCTS Best of LRTS

CHICAGO - Whitney Baker, conservator and associate librarian at Kansas University Libraries, and Liz Dube, conservator and associate librarian at University of Notre Dame, have been awarded the 2011 Best of LRTS Award for the article, "Identifying Standard Practices in Research Library Book Conservation," published in Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS), volume 54, number 1, 2010, pages 21-39.

The Best of LRTS Award is given to the author(s) of the best paper published each year in LRTS, the official journal of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). The authors receive $250 and a citation in recognition of their work.

The Whitney and Dube article addresses issues of interest to ALCTS in particular and discusses fundamental principles in a way that illuminates the issues. This article demonstrates an important topic in the resources and technical services field.

This important and readable paper is based on a well-designed survey of 73 U.S. research libraries. The survey sought to "specify the 'standard toolbox' of treatments'" of physical objects in libraries. This empirically grounded snapshot of how book conservation is actually practiced balances normative descriptions about how it should be practiced. The study also compares the conservation treatments used in special and general collections, and can inform the development of training and reference materials for conservation treatment.

The award will be presented on Sunday, June 26, at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony during the 2011 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans.

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is the national association for information providers who work in collections and technical services, such as acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, preservation and continuing resources in digital and print formats.

ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association.