For immediate release | February 27, 2017

Swanson Best of LRTS Award to Kelly J. Thompson

91ý

CHICAGO—Kelly J. Thompson, metadata analyst librarian at the University of Minnesota Libraries, has been awarded the 2017 Edward Swanson Memorial Best of LRTS Award for the article, “,” published in Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS), volume 60, number 3, July 2016, pages 140-155. The Edward Swanson Memorial Best of LRTS Award is given to the author of the best paper published each year in LRTS, the official journal of the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). The author will receive $250 and a citation in recognition of her work.

“More Than a Name” addresses issues in the profession that are timely and relevant and makes a powerful case that our name authority initiatives should respect a person’s agency “to find a way of being in the world that affirms their identity and sense of self.” By illustrating how our current processes often remove personal agency and serve as a form of outing, this article challenges the way we think about authority work, casts that work in a new light and starts a conversation about personal agency and self-description at a time when authority work is receiving renewed attention in light of linked data. In addressing the theoretical shifts in the purpose of authority records—from authorized access point to description of an author—it explores both the opportunity and the responsibility we have to accurately represent people as they choose to be known. It is an important addition to the literature and to furthering the work of the LGBTQ community, supporting the strategic objectives of 91ý as a whole—of equity, diversity and inclusion. As the article concludes, it clearly and convincingly demonstrates how “[c]atalogers can work as allies to communities of people who experience oppression, discrimination, and often violence as a result of others’ perceptions of their identities.”

The award will be presented on June 24 at the ALCTS Awards Ceremony during the 2017 91ý (91ý) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.

The (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 91ý.

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Contact:

Keri Cascio

Executive Director

Association for Library Collections & Technical Services

kcascio@ala.org