RUSA seeks nominations for 2015 achievement awards and grants

CHICAGO —The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is seeking nominations for its annual series of awards and grants. Nominations and supporting materials for most awards must be submitted by Dec. 14, 2014.

For many years RUSA has been dedicated to celebrating the outstanding achievements of reference librarians and practitioners through the presentation of awards and grants. With over $30,000 generously donated annually by industry sponsors, RUSA has, and will continue to, nominate, select and honor the very best in the field of reference librarianship.

Members are an essential part of the success of RUSA’s awards program. RUSA encourages members to nominate their colleagues whose work has influenced their thinking and performance and whose contributions merit recognition by the profession. Member nominations ensure that the pool of candidates for each award remains both competitive and distinguished.

Achievement awards for individuals and groups:

• Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award, RUSA’s highest honor, recognizes an individual who has made a distinguished contribution to the field of reference librarianship. Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning; $5,000* and a citation.
• NoveList’s Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award recognizes a librarian who has made significant contributions to library adult services. Sponsored by Novelist; $1,250* and a citation.
• 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. Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning; $3,000* and a citation.
• John Sessions Memorial Award recognizes a library or library system that 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. Sponsored by the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO, the winner receives a plaque.
• Reference Service Press Award recognizes the most outstanding article published in Reference and User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), RUSA’s research journal, during the preceding two-volume year. Sponsored by Reference Service Press; $2,500* prize and a plaque.
• BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to business librarianship. Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning; $3,000* and a citation.
• Louis Shores Award recognizes an individual reviewer, group, editor, review medium or organization for excellence in book reviewing and other media for libraries. The winner receives a citation.
• Zora Neale Hurston Award honors an individual ALA member who has demonstrated leadership in promoting African-American literature. Sponsored by HarperCollins; the winner receives $1,250* supporting travel to the ALA Annual Conference, a plaque, tickets to the ALTAFF Author Tea and a set of Hurston’s books in print with HarperCollins at the time of the award presentation.
• ABC-CLIO Online History Award recognizes an individual or group that has produced a 1) freely available online historical collection or, 2) an online tool assisting users in finding historical materials, or 3) an online teaching aid stimulating creative historical scholarship. Sponsored by ABC-CLIO; $2,500* and a citation.
• History Section Genealogical Publishing Company Award is presented to a librarian, library or publisher who is a RUSA member, and recognizes professional achievement in historical or genealogical reference, service or research librarianship. Sponsored by Genealogical Publishing Company; $1,500* and a citation.
• MARS “My Favorite Martian” Award is a citation presented annually in recognition of excellence in service to the MARS: Emerging Technologies in Reference Section of RUSA. The winner receives a citation.
• RSS Service Achievement Award is presented annually to a member of the Reference Services Section (RSS) of RUSA in recognition of exceptional contributions to the section. The winner receives a citation.
• 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. Sponsored by OCLC; $2,000* and a citation.

Travel awards to the ALA Annual Conference:

• BRASS Gale Cengage Learning Student Travel Award presents funds to a student enrolled in an ALA accredited master's degree program to fund travel the ALA Annual Conference. Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning; $1,250* and a citation. This award’s nomination deadline is Feb. 8, 2015.
• BRASS Business Expert Press Award for Academic Business Librarians is presented to a new librarian in the field of academic business librarianship in order to support attendance to the ALA Annual Conference. Sponsored by Business Expert Press; $1,250* and a citation.
• Morningstar Public Librarian Support Award offers funds to a public librarian who has performed outstanding business reference service and who requires financial assistance to attend the ALA Annual Conference. Sponsored by Morningstar, Inc.; $1,250* and a citation.
• STARS/Atlas Systems Mentoring Award offers ALA Annual Conference travel assistance funds to a library practitioner who is new to the field of interlibrary loan/document delivery or electronic reserves, and who has involvement in the areas of borrowing, lending, document delivery, electronic reserves, material delivery or resource sharing. Sponsored by Atlas Systems; $1,250* and a citation.

Research grants:

• RUSA History Section Gale Cengage History Research and Innovation Award is granted to an MLS degreed librarian from an ALA accredited school to facilitate and further research relating to history and history librarianship. Sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning; $2,500* and a citation.
• BRASS Emerald Research Grant, is presented to an individual or group seeking support to conduct research in business librarianship. Sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing; $5,000* and a citation.

*Monetary award amounts are subject to change without notice and are contingent upon donor funding supplied at the time the award is presented. Questions about these awards should be directed to the committee chairperson—access committee contact information by logging in at www.ala.org, then accessing the RUSA roster webpage—or to the RUSA headquarters staff.

More information about these awards, including nominating instructions, can be found on RUSA’s awards webpage.  

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), 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. Learn more about the association http://www.ala.org/rusa.