91´«Ã½

The ACRL Awards Process Implementation Task Force has completed its work and the ACRL Board of Directors approved the task force’s recommendations at their January 26, 2024 Virtual Board meeting. Included in the approved recommendations was the establishment of the ACRL Awards Coordinating Committee; lifting of the awards’ pause; ending cash awards; and aligning awards policies and procedures to ACRL’s Core Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. You can read the full report and recommendations in the (Doc 17.1). These recommendations included that, during the 2024-2025 program year, each awards committee be charged with reviewing the description, selection criteria, and selection process for the award(s) it juries. For more information, please contact Brian Lim.

This award honors the life and accomplishments of Hugh C. Atkinson by soliciting nominations and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of an academic librarian or group of librarians who has or have worked in the areas of library automation or library management and has made contributions (including risk taking) toward the improvement of library services or to library development or research.

Awards

Cash award and a plaque. This award is funded by an endowment created by divisional, individual, and vendor contributions given in memory of Hugh C. Atkinson. The award is jointly sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures.

Eligibility

The nominee must be a librarian or group of librarians employed in one of the following during the year prior to application for this award:

• University, college, or community college library
• Non-profit consortium, or a consortium comprised of non-profits that provides resources/services/support to academic libraries

The nominee must have a minimum of five years of professional experience in an academic library or in a non-profit consortium or a consortium comprised of non-profits. The nominee must be a member of 91´«Ã½ and at least one of the award's sponsoring divisions (ACRL and Core) at the time of submission.

Applications are kept in the award pool for two years. Applications may be updated each year, as long as they are received by the award deadline.

Criteria

The nominee must have demonstrated achievement (including risk-taking) that has contributed significantly to improvements in the areas of library automation, library management, and/or library development or research. Additionally, the nominee must have demonstrated how their work has impacted the profession.

For group nominations, all nominees must meet the eligibility and criteria requirements.

Submission Procedures

Submissions are not currently being accepted.

Electronic submissions through the online nomination form are required. The nomination form must be completed in its entirety. Nominations must be received by the award deadline to receive consideration. Individuals may nominate themselves or others. Nominators are encouraged to solicit additional letters that would help the committee understand the full scope of the nominee’s contributions.

Supporting documents to accompany the nomination form include:

• a letter from you supporting the nomination
• a current vita for the person being nominated
• as many letters as you wish from other librarians supporting the nomination
• a high resolution photo of the nominee (at least 300 dpi), which will be used to make the official announcement immediately after the 91´«Ã½ Midwinter Meeting

All letters of support should be compiled by the nominator and uploaded through the nomination form as a single PDF (max size 20MB).

Information and Assistance

If you have questions, please contact the Chair of the Atkinson Award Committee, Dale Poulter, dale.poulter@vanderbilt.edu or staff liaison Brian Lim, blim@ala.org.

This award is administered by the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award Committee.

2021 Recipient

Mark E. Phillips, Associate Dean for Digital Libraries, University of North Texas

Previous Recipients

• 2020 – Beth Denker, George Machovec, and Rose Nelson, Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries |
• 2019 – John Price Wilkin |
• 2018 – Larry P. Alford |
• 2017 – Mark Sandler |
• 2016 – James L. Mullins |
• 2015 – Brian Schottlaender |
• 2014 – Anne R. Kenney |
• 2013 – Lisabeth A. Wilson |
• 2012 – John F. Helmer |
• 2011 – Carol A. Mandel |
• 2010 – Paula T. Kaufman |
• 2009 – Ray English |
• 2008 – No recipient
• 2007 – James G. Neal
• 2006 – Nancy M. Cline
• 2005 – Paul M. Gherman
• 2004 – Jerome Yavarkovsky
• 2003 – Wendy Pradt Lougee
• 2002 – Harold W. Billings
• 2001 – Larry Frye
• 2000 – Kenneth Frazier
• 1999 – Susan K. Nutter
• 1998 – Arnold Hirshon
• 1997 – William Gray Potter
• 1996 – Thomas W. Shaughnessy
• 1995 – Nancy L. Eaton
• 1994 – Dorothy Gregor
• 1993 – Richard De Gennaro
• 1992 – Miriam Drake
• 1991 – Donald E. Riggs
• 1990 – Russell Shank
• 1989 – Thomas Michalak
• 1988 – Richard M. Dougherty