2009 Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services
The Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services is given to a library or library system for developing an imaginative and unique resource to meet patrons’ reference needs. The resource can be a bibliography, a guide to the literature of a specific subject, a directory, a database, or any other project that has helped the library meet adult or children’s reference needs. Tools, guides, or databases that have been developed for reader’s advisory or adult service questions and needs are also eligible for the award. (Established 1990)
SPONSOR: The award is sponsored by Gale Cengage Learning, Farmington Hills, Michigan, and administered by RUSA.
FORM OF AWARD: $3,000 and a citation.
NOMINATIONS: Nominations are to be made in writing, stating in detail how the resource has contributed to meeting patrons’ reference needs. All nominations should include the following:
- description of the resource
- description of the format, e.g., card file, database, etc.
- list of sources used to compile the resource
- target audience
- criteria used in selecting material for inclusion. (If the resource is inclusive, please state so clearly.)
- breadth of coverage, i.e., time and subject
- explanation of what makes the resource imaginative or unique
A sample of the resource (or entry, pages, printout, etc.) must accompany the nomination.
Additional information is available on the committee’s web site.
The award (formerly titled the Thomson Gale Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services) has been given annually since 1991. Recent recipients include Springfield-Greene County Library, Springfield (Mo.) , New Orleans Public Library, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Library, University Library/ University of Nebraska at Omaha, Richmond (British Columbia) Public Library, North Carolina State University Libraries, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Orange County Library System, Orlando (Fla.)Â
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Send your letter and relevant documentation to the Committee Chair, Anne Behler, by December 15, 2008.Â