91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — Diane Zabel, the Louis and Virginia Benzak Business librarian at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., has been selected the 2011 winner of the .



The award, which is administered by RUSA and generously supported by Gale Cengage Learning, recognizes distinguished contributions to reference librarianship. In choosing Zabel for this year’s honor, the selection committee cited her professional leadership both as a past president of RUSA and current editor of Reference & User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), her extensive publication credentials in hospitality management and tourism and her key role in revitalizing reference librarianship. They also noted her local and national impact on the profession through her mentoring and as a teacher to thousands of business school students. A colleague describes Zabel as “the complete package of devotion to the cause; deep thinking about the practice and future of reference; and sheer productivity.”



Zabel received her Master’s in Library and Information Science and her Master’s of Urban Planning from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has served as editor of RUSQ since 2006, and also edited Reference Reborn: Breathing New Life into Public Services Librarianship (Libraries Unlimited, 2011).



Zabel will receive her award, a citation and $5000 cash prize, at the RUSA Awards Reception, scheduled for 5 - 6: p.m. on Sunday, June 26 as a part of RUSA’s events at the 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in New Orleans. The exact location of this event will be announced in late spring. For more information, visit or the .

The , a division of the 91´«Ã½, 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. Not a member, but interested in discounted registration rates on conference, preconferences and other events? Join, renew or add RUSA to your 91´«Ã½ membership at . Learn more about the association at .