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Call for nominations: RSS Service Achievement Award

Have you done some outstanding work for the Reference Services Section (RSS)? Know someone who has? Submit your nomination today!

The RSS Service Achievement Award, founded in 2010, is given to an RSS member who has made either a sustained contribution towards attaining the goals of the Reference Services Section or a single significant contribution that has resulted in a positive impact upon the work of the section.

Nominations
Please send a nomination letter detailing specifically how the nominee has met either of the above criteria to the award committee chair, Emilie Smart (refchef@gmail.com).

Anyone who wishes to nominate a Reference Services Section member for the award should do so by December 15.

Nominations and questions regarding the award should be directed to the committee chair.

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Call for nominations: John Sessions Memorial Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2014 John Sessions Memorial Award offered by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).

The John Sessions Memorial Award recognizes a library or library system which has made a significant effort to work with the labor community and by doing so has brought recognition to the history and contribution of the labor movement of the United States.

Such efforts may include outreach projects to local labor unions; establishment of, or significant expansion of, special labor collections; initiation of programs of special interest to the labor community; or other library activities that serve the labor community.

To nominate a library or organization, download and complete the nomination form (PDF format), and follow the submission instructions therein. Questions should be directed to the committee chair, Laura Carscaddon, lcarscaddon1@gsu.edu, 404-413-2804.

The deadline for nominations is December 15.

The 2014 award will presented at the RUSA Awards Reception during the ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 26-July 1, 2014.

The Labor Archives of Washington was the 2013 recipient of the award.  The Labor Archives are notable for their work with the labor, university and local community. Work with local schools has helped encourage the teaching of labor history in the classroom. The Labor Archives also host online and traveling exhibits that focus on labor history, particularly that of the Pacific Northwest.

The award committee selected the Center for its efforts to educate the community on the accomplishments of labor through its public programs, publications, exhibitions, and oral history project.  These resources and the Center’s outreach efforts illustrate their commitment to preserving and highlighting the history of labor.

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. Learn more about the association at www.ala.org/rusa.

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New issue published: Reference and User Services Quarterly, Volume 53, Issue 1

Read the new issue now

Need to activate your subscription to RUSQ? Access information is on the RUSA website.

In this issue…

Columns

From the Editor, Barry Trott
       Suggestions for Authors Considering Publishing in RUSQ
From the President of RUSA, M. Kathleen Kern
       I’m a Chair, but I Feel Like a Folding Chair.
Taking Issues, eds Karen Antell and Molly Strothmann
       Should Librarians Friend Their Patrons?
       Nedda H. Ahmed and Adriana Edwards-Johnson
Accidental Technologist, ed. Eric Phetteplace
      Know Thy Users
      Amanda Etches, Guest Columnist
Readers’ Advisory, ed. Laurel Tarulli
       Social Media and Readers’ Advisory: A Win-Win Combination?
       Rebecca Anwyll and Brenda Chawner, Guest Columnists
The Alert Collector, ed. Kelly Myer Polacek
       The World at 1200: A Guide to Introductory Sources
       Amanda Qualls, Guest Columnist
Management, ed. Marianne Ryan
      Access Services–Check Us Out!
      Beth E. Clausen, Guest Columnist
Information Literacy and Instruction, ed. Lisa O’ Connor
Establishing Twenty-First Century Information Literacy
Jennifer Sharkey, guest Columnist

Features

Information Literacy Skills of Humanities, Arts and Social Science Tertiary Students in Singapore
      Schubert Foo, xue Zhang, yun-Ke Chang, Shaheen Majid,
Intan Azura Mokhtar, Joanna Sin, and yin-Leng Theng
Arcane Magic: Hal Hall and the Creation and Transformation of Science Fiction Indexing
      Sarah Potvin and Catherine Coker
Arizona Public Libraries Serving the Spanish-Speaking: Context for Changes
      Denice Adkins and C. Sean Burns

From the Committees of RUSA

MARS Best Free Reference Websites, 15th Annual List

Reviews

Professional Materials, ed. Karen Antell Reference
Book Reviews, ed. Tammy Eschedor Voelker

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How is BRASS like the Oscars?

Call for Nominations – Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship

(A message from award committee member, Bobray Bordelon)

Dear Colleagues,

For those of us in BRASS and/or the field of business librarianship—the Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship is like the BRASS Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars!  We honor an individual who has made significant contributions in the field business librarianship.

So please take a look around your professional life and reflect on what contribution to business librarianship has made an impact on your professional career.  Now is the time to honor this person for their important contribution with a nomination for this prestigious award. Our sponsor is Gale Cengage Learning.

The recipient will receive a $3000 cash award and a citation. The award and citation will be presented at the RUSA Awards ceremony at the 2014 ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas June 26-July 1, 2014!

Applicants for this award will be evaluated based on their contribution to the field of business librarianship. These contributions may include, but are not limited to: authorship of a seminal book or articles in business librarianship; development of an imaginative and successful program centered around business within a library; teaching business librarianship in a particularly creative and substantive manner; and displaying strong leadership in a professional association geared to business librarianship.

NOMINATIONS –

To submit a nomination, please download and complete the nomination form, and follow the submission instructions therein.  For more information, please visit the award page at http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/businesslib.

Please email or mail the nomination packet by DECEMBER 15, 2013, to the Committee Chair, Mark E Andersen.

Mark E Andersen
Division Chief
Business Science Technology
Chicago Public Library
400 S. State Street, 4N-7A
Chicago, IL  60605
(p) 312.747.4470
-OR-
andersen@chipublib.org

(Drum roll)…  And the Oscar Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship goes to…stay tuned!

Remember, if you don’t nominate that significant contributor in our field, they can’t be considered for this award!

More information about these awards, including nominating instructions, can be found at the RUSA Awards Web page. Monetary award amounts are subject to change without notice and are contingent upon donor funding supplied at the time the award is presented. Questions about these awards should be directed to the committee chairperson or to Leighann Wood, RUSA awards program coordinator at lwood@ala.org.