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2001 RUSA Award Recipients

"Lynn Wiley's long and distinguished record of contributions to the interlibrary loan profession made her a unanimous choice for the second annual Boucher Award," stated Mary Hollerich, the award committee chair. "Whether presenting a conference paper, chairing a committee or spearheading an innovative project, Lynn brings to bear an absolutely boundless energy and enthusiasm that inspire all those who have the pleasure of working with her."

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Women in World History, a fifteen-volume biographical encyclopedia (Gale Group, 2000) is the 2001 recipient of the Dartmouth Medal. The medal, donated by Dartmouth College, is given for creating current reference works of outstanding quality and significance.

"This is the most comprehensive work about women and their achievements in history ever produced," said Barbara Bibel, award committee chair. "It includes women from every historical period and from all cultures."

Barbara Bibel (chair) and Todd Hallman (ABC-CLIO).

Bibel also announced that the Encyclopedia of the American Civil War, (ABC-CLIO, 2000) and the Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences (Academic Press, 2000) are the winners of the Dartmouth Honorable Mention. “The Encyclopedia of the American Civil War looks at the human aspects of the Civil War as well as the political and military aspects. There are articles about women, African Americans, and Jews as well as battles and politicians. The Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences is a comprehensive encyclopedia that explains the arcane forensic sciences so that readers will understand how DNA testing, tire track analysis, and the rate of body decomposition help solve crimes, stated Bibel.”

Barbara Bibel (chair) and Carey Chapman and Pieter Bolman (Academic Press).
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Vivian Kobayashi, committee chair; June Evans, award recipient; and Larry Winters, Dun & Bradstreet.

The award, $2,000 and a citation, is given to a librarian, or library that has created an innovative service for a minority business community, or has been recognized by the community as an outstanding service provider. Minority business is defined as Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, Native Americans, or people from the Indian Subcontinent, as classified by the U. S. Government for minority owned businesses. Up to $1,000 of the award may be used to cover the cost for one representative to attend the ALA Annual Conference and receive the award.

"The Local Minority Business Directory grew out of a need to find information about minority and women-owned businesses and a lack of resources for minority business owners," Award Committee Chair Vivian Kobayashi said. "June Evans recognized this need and began working directly with minority business owners and the Chamber of Commerce to develop a directory to address those needs."

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Mark Andersen, committee chair; Lisa Holbrook, award recipient; and Larry Winters, Dun & Bradstreet.

The citation and $1,000 travel award is to support attendance at the ALA Annual Conference of a business librarian who works in a public library. The award is based on service to the community and on demonstration of need.

"She brings the library to the local businesses by her involvement with the chamber of commerce and it's projects while concurrently bringing 'business' to the library with her outreach, programs, and collection/web development. She is an active member of the local chamber of commerce and an enthusiastic business reference librarian," stated Mark E. Anderson, chair of the award committee. "Lisa Holbrook's involvement in the business community and commitment to the library has made the Ela Area Public Library a vital and visible source of business information in her community."

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"Members of the Facts on File Grant Committee selected the Howard County Library proposal, because we liked all the different parts of the plan. It reaches out to include both senior citizens and high school students, has a good range of topics and an interesting roster of speakers, provides attendees with reading materials for study in advance of the programs, and adds related materials to the library collection," stated Larayne J. Dallas, chair of the award committee.

Norma Hill, Howard County Library, and Larayne Dallas, committee chair.

The Howard County Library will utilize the grant to implement a four-part reading and discussion series of programs that will examine the dramatic changes that have occurred in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Asia. The programs were proposed and submitted by Pat Bates, of Adult Programming, and Natalie Weikart, of Community Relations, for the Howard County Library.

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Lydia LaFaro, committee chair; Karen Chapman, award recipient; and Ellen Crowley, Gale Group.

"Karen Chapman was chosen as this year's award winner because of her significant contributions to business librarianship publications, especially her widely used business reference books, Commodities Price Locator and Investment Statistics Locator," stated Lydia LaFaro, award committee chair. "Chapman has provided long and dedicated service to BRASS in many capacities including developing and maintaining the section's Web pages, which serve as a communication link with business librarians everywhere."

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Front row: Marc Davis, Jan Boyer-Dean, and Karen Hein, award recipients. Back: Kathleen Sullivan, committee chair, and Ellen Crowley, Gale Group.

"Research Wizard is a versatile, database-driven Web application that effectively utilizes the power of modern electronic and Web programming to take the traditional pathfinder into the electronic age. It allows librarians to create anticipated and custom Web-based research guides that access a broad range of resources and to provide content as well as bibliographic information," stated Kathleen Sullivan, chair of the award committee. "Research Wizard checks link vitality, provides statistics on use, and reports new terms by which users are attempting to access information." Marc W. Davis, manager of Support Services, Karen Hein, librarian of Reference and Electronic Services, and Jared Davis, lead programmer, comprise the team of librarians and technology professionals who together created Research Wizard.

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Sam Boldrick, committee chair; Ann Reinert, award recipient; and Joe Garonzik, Genealogical Publishing Company.

"Margaret Ann Reinert has spent her professional career graciously providing scholarly assistance to researchers and exemplary counsel to her peers earning the respect and admiration of all who have contact with her. Of particular interest to RUSA members is her on-going compilation of a record of past events of the History Section and its various committees," Samuel J. Boldrick stated, award committee chair.

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The Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena, Texas, is the recipient of the 2001 Bessie Boehm Moore-Thorndike Press Award. The award, $1,000 donated by the Thorndike Press and a citation of achievement, is presented to a library organization that has developed an outstanding and creative program for library service to the aging. The Bessie Boehm Moore Award was previously an ALA Award from 1990-1996.

Ann Eccles, committee chair; Shiela Henderson, Pasadena Public Library; and Karen Huysen, Thorndike Press.

"Community involvement and publicity are key in this program. While this library serves the older adults of Pasadena, Texas, particularly in care facilities, they have taken a public role in the community. The project manager is a licensed nursing home activity director to better address the service needs of this population; the program addresses needs for literacy and intergenerational contact, as well as for Hispanic seniors," said Ann Eccles, chair of the award committee. "While in traditional form, this service to older adults is an impressive program for a city library."

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Chester Bunnell, committee chair; Carole Leita, award recipient; and Marin Mixon, R.R. Bowker.

"Carole has blended the best of reference service into the Internet by creating the Librarians' Index to the Internet. She has also created a number of useful guides for librarians the world over. These guides include: Best Search Tools Page, Search Engines Quick Guide, Search Tools Chart, and LII WEEK," said Chester Bunnell, award committee chair. "She is bringing reference librarianship into the 21st century for many librarians."

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Donald G. Frank, Katharine L. Calhoun, W. Bruce Henson, M. Leslie Madden and Gregory K. Raschke are the 2001 recipients of the Reference Service Press Award. The award, a plaque and $1,500 donated by Reference Service Press, is given to the author of the most outstanding article published in Reference and User Services Quarterly (RUSQ), RUSA's quarterly journal, during the preceding two-volume years.

Donald G. Frank, associate director, Millar Library, Portland State University, Portland, Ore., Katharine L. Calhoun, head of corporate and research services, W. Bruce Henson, assistant head of reference, M. Leslie Madden, reference librarian and information consultant, Gregory K. Raschke, head of technical resources and information consultant, at the Library Information Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, received the award for "The Changing Nature of Reference and Information Services: Predictions and Realities," published in RUSQ, volume 39 number 2, pages 151-57.

Katherine Calhoun, recipient; Jean Alexander, committee chair; Gail Schlachter, Reference Service Press; and Donald Frank, recipient.

"The winning article of the 2001 RUSA Reference Service Press Award is a thoughtful survey of changing concepts of reference service over the past fifteen years. In broad outlines illustrated with key examples and research studies, they discuss developments in organizational structures, information media and access, reference services, roles and expectations, and leadership," stated Jean Alexander, chair of the award committee. "This retrospective analysis allows the reader the opportunity to understand and reflect not only on the past, but also on the present and future of reference librarianship in libraries of all types."

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Ann Sparanese, committee chair; David Richards, representing Duane G. Meyer Library; and Anthony Sarmiento, AFL-CIO.

"The Duane G. Meyer Library of the Southwest Missouri State University exists in an area of relatively weak union activity, low wages and endemic poverty. Over a period of seventeen years, the Ozark Labor Union Archives (OLUA) has developed itself as a major repository for labor and working class records and collections. It has developed an active outreach component that promotes an understanding and appreciation of labor history," said Ann Sparanese, chair of the award committee. "It was this excellent duality, archival collection and an outreach program, including a student essay contest sponsored by the OLUA and American Postal Workers Union Local 888, that made the OLUA stand out as the winner."

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The cash award of $3,000 and a citation is donated by Oryx Press, part of the Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., and is given to an individual, team or organization to recognize excellence in the reviewing of books and other materials for libraries. Established in 1990, the award is named for Louis Shores, editor-in-chief of Colliers Encyclopedia from 1960 to 1981, and dean of the Florida State University Library School from 1946 to 1967.

Phyllis Steckler, Oryx Press; Mary Ellen Quinn, award recipient; and Susan Awe, committee member.

"As editor of Reference Books Bulletin since 1997, Mary Ellen Quinn has added new and useful features that inform and appeal to the wide audience of school, public, and academic librarians who read and use Booklist as a selection tool. Reference on the Web, Reference Books in Brief, and Another Look At … are all exciting new features that are Mary Ellen's creations," stated Christine Bulson, chair of the award committee. "The Reference Books Bulletin reviews are written by dozens of reviewers but the reviews are consistently high in quality, format, and style due to Mary Ellen's careful editing and judiciously applied rewrites."

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Thomson Financial Student Travel Award

Left to right: Ryan Womack, chair; Susan Schultz, recipient; and Bobby Hart and Nathan Wolaver (Thomson Financial).

"Susan Alice Shultz comes to business librarianship with extensive work experience in information intensive operations at Booz, Allen & Hamilton and Deloitte & Touche. Since returning to school, she has shown dedication and commitment to providing outstanding library service at the Commerce Library of the University of Illinois," said Ryan Womack the award committee chair. "Susan Alice Shultz has the experience, skill and motivation to become a leader in the library profession."