This year, the American Library Association bestowed its highest honors and awards on a variety of individuals and institutions whose achievements underscore their bold vision for librarianship and their strong commitment to the profession. Selected by their colleagues and peers, the 2012 honorees highlighted in these pages represent the best of the best in ALA and just a fraction of the more than 200 awards and honors given out each year by the Association’s divisions, round tables, offices, and other units. Meet more winners at ala.org.
Distinguished Service
BETTY J. TUROCK
Betty J. Turock (right), professor and dean emeritus at Rutgers University and ALA past president (1995–1996), was elected by the ALA Council to honorary membership at the 2012 Midwinter Meeting in Dallas. Honorary Membership, ALA’s highest honor, recognizes outstanding contributions of lasting importance to libraries and librarianship.
Turock was nominated in recognition of her outstanding commitment and achievement in the field of library and information science, as a practitioner, educator, advocate, and philanthropist. Her efforts have increased ALA’s and librarianship’s emphasis on diversity, innovation, leadership, and access for all. During her term as president, Turock developed the Spectrum Scholarship Program in partnership with then–ALA Executive Director Elizabeth Martinez. The initiative recruits members of underrepresented ethnic populations to programs of library and information science and helps fund their graduate education. To date, the Spectrum Scholarship Program has educated more than 700 students.
Turock is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Lippincott Award, the highest honor bestowed by ALA for distinguished service to the profession, and was named one of the Extraordinary Library Advocates of the 20th Century by ALA’s Association for Library Trustees and Advocates (now United for Libraries).
A Capital Advocate
US SENATOR JACK REED
Every major piece of federal legislation supporting libraries in the last 22 years has had one thing in common: the sponsorship of US Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). For his unwavering commitment to supporting and strengthening library services, Reed received ALA’s highest honor at the 2012 National Library Legislative Day in Washington, D.C., in May: Honorary Membership. Honorary membership is given to living citizens of any country whose contribution to librarianship or a closely related field is so outstanding that it is of lasting importance to the advancement of the whole field of library service. Honorary members are elected for life by vote of ALA Council upon recommendation by the ALA Executive Board.
Reed has been a staunch supporter of school and public libraries in the US Congress since his election to the House of Representatives in 1990 and his election to the US Senate in 1997. In 2012, as a member of the US Senate Appropriations Committee, he fought efforts to eliminate library funding and delivered $28.6 million in competitive grants for school libraries and literacy programs.
A Lifetime of Leadership
CARLA J. STOFFLE
Joseph W. Lippincott Award of $1,000 presented annually to a librarian for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship, including outstanding participation in the activities of the professional library association and on behalf of the profession, or notable published professional writing. Donor: Joseph W. Lippincott III
Carla J. Stoffle, dean of libraries and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, applies her belief in the importance of diversity, inclusion, and fairness into all of her professional activities: serving ALA as an endowment trustee and on its Executive Board, chairing the ALA Accreditation Committee, leading the Association for College and Research Libraries as president in 1982–1983, and contributing more than 60 articles and chapters in professional literature during her 40-year career.
Stoffle is “a bold innovator,” her peers say, and her efforts to achieve greater diversity in the profession and set staff development as a core value previously earned her ALA’s Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award and the Equality Award.
The Vanguard
BEVERLY P. LYNCH
Melvil Dewey Medal and $2,000 for creative professional achievement in library management, training, cataloging and classification, and the tools and techniques of librarianship. Donor: OCLC
Beverly Lynch, professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California–Los Angeles, can lay claim to educating dozens of the library world’s leaders as director of UCLA’s Senior Fellows program, as well as establishing the prestigious California Rare Book School, a world-class center focused on an increasingly important aspect of academic librarianship. Lynch, a former Lippincott Award winner, was also lauded for her contributions to international librarianship through her work as chair of ALA’s International Relations Committee and for founding the US–China Librarians conference series. One-time executive secretary of ACRL, Lynch proposed and designed the first national ACRL conference and later served as president of ALA.
First Amendment Activist, Esq.
MICHAEL BAMBERGER
The Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award recognizes individuals who have contributed substantially to the foundation through adherence to its principles and/or substantial monetary support. Sponsor: Freedom to Read Foundation
Attorney Michael Bamberger, general counsel for Media Coalition, partner at SNR Denton, adjunct professor of law at Cardozo Law School, and lecturer at the University of California–Berkeley’s School of Law, was honored for his more than 30 years fighting for free speech rights. Bamberger is best known for his work in Hudnut v. American Booksellers Association, which successfully challenged an Indianapolis antipornography ordinance that outlawed “graphic, sexually explicit subordination of women, whether in pictures or in words,” presenting women as sex objects, or as enjoying pain, humiliation, or servility. The US Supreme Court affirmed lower courts’ decisions to strike down the ordinance in 1985.
Preservation Activist
JEANNE DREWES
The Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship of $1,000 honors an individual for contributing significantly to the public recognition and appreciation of librarianship through professional performance, teaching, and/or writing. Donor: Ken Haycock
As chief of binding and collections care/manager, mass deacidification, in the Preservation Directorate at the Library of Congress, Jeanne Drewes has proven to be a tireless public advocate for preservation. In addition to her work educating colleagues in the field about preservation, Drewes was instrumental to the success of ALA’s Preservation Week, established in 2010 to reach out to the general public. Drewes also supported preservation efforts in Cuban libraries, sending shipments of tools for library and book repair as well as overseeing the translation of how-to manuals.
Friend of the Family
LYNDA WELBORN FREAS
The Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators Supporting Services to Children is given to an individual who has shown exceptional understanding and support for public library service to children while having general management, supervisory, or administrative responsibility that has included public service for children in its scope. Donor: Peggy Sullivan
As director of family services at Anythink Libraries in Thornton, Colorado, Lynda Welborn Freas has expanded services to children at Anythink’s seven branches. Freas brought Family Place Libraries to Anythink, an approach that integrates resources for the entire family into children’s services, ensuring that the library is a welcoming place for everyone in the family, from birth through adulthood. Freas also expanded the summer reading program to include hands-on programming and greater family involvement and spearheaded the addition of Nature Explore community gardens at three branches.
Opportunity Creator
MARY M. WAGNER
Beta Phi Mu Award of $1,000 for distinguished service to education in librarianship. Donor: Beta Phi Mu International Honor Society
When St. Catherine University received its ALA accreditation in 2011 after decades of work to establish Minnesota’s only library science program, Mary Wagner, its most tireless advocate, wasn’t there to hear the good news. Wagner, a professor of library and information science at St. Catherine, was on sabbatical at the University of Zambia in Lusaka as a Fulbright Scholar, lecturing in the Library Studies Program, developing a curriculum for school librarians, teaching marketing strategies, and fostering literary development for Zambian children. Wagner also established the Urban Library Program, in collaboration with St. Paul Public Library, which gives training to minority students and encourages them to embark on careers in librarianship.
Cross-Cultural Educator
PATRICIA M. Y. WONG
Equality Award of $1,000 for an outstanding contribution that promotes equality in the library profession. Donor: Scarecrow Press
County librarian and chief archivist of the Yolo County (Calif.) Library, Patty Wong attributes her career championing the importance of diversity in library services to her upbringing in a culturally and ethnically diverse community. Wong—1999 president of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, one-time ALA Executive Board member, and a participant on several Spectrum scholarship committees—received recognition for her work on diversity issues at the California State Library and her mentorship of MLS students at San José State University’s School of Library and Information Science, where she is an instructor. She received the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color’s Advocacy Award in 2006 for being a strong advocate for “communities of color” and was Yolo County’s 2009 Woman of the Year.
Change Agent
LYN HOPPER
Elizabeth Futas Catalyst for Change Award of $1,000 for making positive changes in the profession of librarianship. Donor: Elizabeth Futas Memorial Fund
Lyn Hopper, a strategic planning consultant and retired assistant state librarian for library development in Georgia, effects change in libraries by going beyond library doors and conducting outreach to trustees and Friends, focusing on providing educational opportunities and training across the library community. An IMLS grant recipient, she created multiple resources for trustees and Friends in her home state of Georgia, expanding the library community. She also leads professional development opportunities for the Public Library Association and at Valdosta State University, where she teaches a community building seminar in the Library and Information Science program.
Sends Kids Soaring
PAUL KELSEY
Scholastic Library Publishing Award of $1,000 to a librarian for promoting access to books and encouraging a love of reading and lifelong learning.
Although Paul Kelsey has a notable career as head of acquisitions at Sims Memorial Library at Southeastern Louisiana University, he is likely best known to thousands of young authors, illustrators, and poets as the founder, publisher, and editor in chief of Launch Pad: Where Young Authors and Illustrators Take Off! a free online magazine that gives creative youth ages 6–14 a venue to publish their work and collaborate together. Launch Pad readers can search work by category, author/illustrator age, and place of origin, encouraging interaction on a website that draws contributors and readers from across the world, including the US, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
Community Partners
WAUKEGAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
Marshall Cavendish Excellence in Library Programming Award of $2,000 for a school or public library that demonstrates excellence. Donor: Marshall Cavendish Corporation
The Early Learning Center at Waukegan (Ill.) Public Library is a model for supporting the learning needs of a changing area while celebrating the diversity that makes the community dynamic. Staff at WPL saw that the literacy rates for children ages 0–7 were lagging because of a lack of resources and developed a programming series called Championing Our Littlest Learners to bolster the preliteracy needs of youngsters and showcase the importance of parents as their children’s first teachers. (Pictured: Assistant Director of Community Services Elizabeth Stearns and Executive Director Richard Lee)
Zookeepers
VIRGINIA BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY
The H. W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant gives $3,500 to a library that demonstrates great merit in a staff development program that furthers the goals and objectives of the library organization. Donor: H. W. Wilson Company
Virginia Beach (Va.) Public Library will fund its innovative Petting Zoo training program with this grant, purchasing a variety of digital devices and then using both structured in-person instruction and self-directed, hands-on exploration to teach staff how to use the devices. Library staffers at all levels throughout the system will be able to learn from tech experts and by means of their own experimentation. They will then be able to use the Petting Zoo concept to teach library customers how to use digital media at the library or with their own equipment. (Pictured: Library Support Services Manager Clara Hudson)
Tireless Fundraisers
CEDAR RAPIDS PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
The Gale Cengage Learning Financial Development Award of $2,500 is presented to a library organization for exhibiting meritorious achievement in securing new funding sources for a public or academic library.
The Cedar Rapids (Ia.) Public Library Foundation was hard at work raising funds for a new downtown library in 2008 when a catastrophic flood destroyed its existing building. But floodwater couldn’t drown the foundation’s clear goals, and from the devastation rose the Library 3.0 campaign, which aimed to raise funds for a new LEED-certified building and strengthen the library’s endowment by at least $1 million. Through innovative collaborations with community groups and dynamic public engagement, the foundation exceeded its goal, raising $7.1 million before the official evaluation phase even began. (Pictured: Executive Director Katie Geiken)
Customer-Focused Innovators
NPR LIBRARY
ALA/Information Today Library of the Future Award of $1,500 to an individual library, library consortium, group of librarians, or support organization for innovative planning, application, or development of patron training programs about information technology in a library setting. Donor: Information Today, Inc.
NPR librarians Lauren Sin (left) and Katie Daugert developed Artemis, a training program designed to teach NPR staff far and wide how to use a new internal database for audio archives and transcripts. The program offers instruction through a variety of strategies, including librarian-produced online videos narrated in the familiar dulcet tones of NPR journalists, email campaigns, posters in NPR’s headquarters, presentations at editorial staff meetings, and the recruitment and training of power users to be Artemis advocates. The program is targeted at a wide range of potential customers around the globe, including reporters, producers, editors, development staff, news executives, and radio hosts. NPR staff noted that the videos make the database approachable and are as fun as they are instructive—a compliment of the highest order for training materials.
Winning Titles
SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARDS
The Schneider Family Book Awards of $5,000 to honor authors or illustrators for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Recipients are selected in three categories: birth through grade school (age 0–10), middle school (age 11–13), and teens (age 13–18). Donor: Katherine Schneider
Joan Bauer’s Close to Famous, the story of a tween girl with a reading disability who dreams of becoming a celebrity chef, shared the middle readers’ award with Brian Selznick’s Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures, which links the experiences of two deaf children who live 50 years apart from one another. Wendelin Van Draanen’s The Running Dream, the teen readers’ award, examines 16-year-old runner Jessica’s rehabilitation and return to the sport after she loses her leg. (The awards committee chose not to award a book in the young readers’ category.) (Pictured, from left: Wendelin Van Draanen, Brian Selznick, and Joan Bauer)
W. Y. BOYD LITERARY AWARD
W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction of $5,000 for the author of a military novel set in a time when the US was at war and that honors the service of Americans. Donor: W. Y. Boyd II
Reflecting on the devastation of World War II’s Pacific theater from the perspective of three main characters—two Naval Academy graduates and a Navy nurse—Peter T. Deutermann’s novel Pacific Glory offers a gritty, horrific view into what heroism meant to those who served on the sea and in the air. Deutermann drew on his own experiences as a Navy captain, as well as those of his father, a World War II vet who became a vice admiral.
ABC-CLIO/GREENWOOD AWARD FOR BEST BOOK IN LIBRARY LITERATURE
ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Publishing Group Award for the Best Book in Library Literature of $5,000 for a publication that helps library professionals in the areas of management principles and practice, understanding and application of new techniques, or furthering the education of librarians or other information professionals. Donor: ABC-CLIO Greenwood Publishing Group
R. David Lankes foresees a bold future for librarianship in The Atlas of New Librarianship, which envisions a profession that “improve(s) society through facilitating knowledge creation” in each library’s community. Lankes’s innovative text, with its creative use of graphics and extended companion website, uses its unusual format to push librarians outside their comfort zones and consider what the future holds for them. Lankes is a professor at Syracuse (N.Y.) University’s School of Information Studies and director of its library program, as well as director of the Information Institute of Syracuse, a research center and think tank.
