91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — Nicolette Warisse Sosulski, business librarian at Portage (Mich.) District Library, has been selected as the 2011 recipient of the Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship — an annual honor administered by the Business Reference & Services Section (BRASS) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) and sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning.

Winners of this award are selected for their outstanding contribution to the field of business librarianship. Sosulski’s commitment to the profession is demonstrated in her service to a diverse group both within and outside of the library that nominated her for this award. She is adept at leveraging her connections, resources and technology to meet a vast array of patron needs, including job hunters in a horrendous economy, small business concerns, youth financial education and fellow business librarian training in varied settings, including corporate, academic, public and non-profit. Her nominators also cited her energetic leadership and visibility in creating programs and presentations that are highly valued by the library and business communities she serves, as well as her humor, tenacity and commitment in being an exemplary business librarian, creating a professional benchmark in hard economic times.

“Our committee believes that Sosulski is a stellar example of what a business librarian can be,” said Penny Scott, award committee chair. “The multitude of nominations we received on her behalf demonstrates the broad impact she has had in her community, as well as the state of Michigan, and we are excited to recognize those accomplishments by presenting her with this award.”

Sosulski will receive her award, a $3,000 cash prize and a citation, at the RUSA Awards Reception, scheduled for 5 - 6:30 p.m. 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 .