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CHICAGO – The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), announces that Parkland College Library and the Parkland College Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning have been chosen to receive the 2014 Community and Junior College Libraries Section (CJCLS) EBSCO Community College Learning Resources Award for the project (SPARK).

The $500 award and plaque, donated by EBSCO Information Services, will be presented to Anna Maria Watkin, director of the Parkland College Library, and Erika Hackman, director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Parkland College, on Friday, June 27, 2014, during the CJCLS Awards Dinner at the 2014 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

“SPARK makes excellent academic work visible, creating a clearer picture and facilitating a deeper understanding of student success,” said award co-chairs David Wright of Surry Community College and Beth Lander of Manor College. “SPARK displayed exceptional innovation and offered promise for long-term impact. Their example helps foster the concept of institutional repositories at other community colleges, and in so doing, validates the work of students at two-year colleges as worthy of scholarly consideration.”

Originally conceived by Hackman and Sherry Cmiel, former information services librarian at Parkland College, SPARK was one of the first institutional repositories created at a community college to promote, preserve and showcase scholarly and creative work of the college's students and faculty.

For more information regarding the ACRL CJCLS EBSCO Community College Learning Resources Award, or a complete list of past recipients, please visit the awards section of the .

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The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for librarians. Representing more than 11,500 academic and research librarians and interested individuals, ACRL (a division of the 91´«Ã½) is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to help academic and research librarians learn, innovate and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning and transforming scholarship. ACRL is on the Web at , Facebook at and Twitter at .