The Rethinking Resource Sharing (RRS) Innovation Awards recognizes and honors an individual or institution for changes they made to improve users’ access to information through resource sharing in their library, consortium, state or country. It is hoped that the award will encourage libraries and librarians to make changes in how they do resource sharing to improve service to users. RRS looks for efforts where people didn’t wait for the profession to provide better services for users.
The Rethinking Resource Sharing Innovation Awards consists of a $1,000 cash award and a citation to the entity that applies. In 2010 Rethinking Resource Sharing expects to make up to three awards. The most valuable ideas will be posted to the Rethinking Resource Sharing website (http://www.rethinkingresourcesharing.org/) in the hope that by sharing a great number of creative resource sharing ideas it will inspire others to try and implement similar ideas.
This is the third year the Rethinking Resource Sharing Innovation Awards have been awarded. In 2009 the winners were:
- RapidILL,
- Orlando Memory, and
- Kentucky Libraries Unbound
Funding for the 2010 Innovation Awards is provided by OCLC, Relais International and the Danish Bibliographic Centre.
Eligibility:
Nominations are accepted for individuals, library institutions, or consortia. Individuals being nominated must have been employed in a library (anywhere in the world) and held some responsibility for their institution’s resource sharing services at the time the contribution is nominated. Innovations must have gone live since January 2007.
Application process:
Self nominations as well as nominations for other individuals or institutions/consortia are accepted. Please submit a description of the user-centric service change you made that has improved resource sharing in your library, consortium or state. Please include the following information:
- Describe a new service you offer, or how you changed an existing service. Explain how it improved your users’ access to information or otherwise improved service. Provide statistics or other indicators of impact and trends
- Indicate how long this idea has been in place; when did it start operation?
- Describe briefly the library or consortium in which this resource sharing idea is in place (e.g. size of institution, number of requests processed and filled, etc).
- Describe how your user-centered service fits in with the seven principles of the Rethinking Resource Sharing Manifesto. http://www.rethinkingresourcesharing.org/manifesto.html
- How did your library/consortia decide that a change was needed in this area?
- What solutions did you find to overcome barriers to implementing this service?
- Comment on the likelihood that this change will be a permanent change. What steps are you taking to insure that the improvement in service can continue?
Deadline: The deadline for applications/nominations is April 30, 2010 (post-mark or date of e-mail). Submissions are sent to the chair of the Rethinking Resource Sharing Awards Committee:
Beth Farmer
Assistant Director
Tampa Bay Library Consortium
1202 Tech Blvd., Ste 202
Tampa, FL 33619
The Rethinking Resource Sharing Innovation Awards Committee for 2010:
Beth Farmer, Assistant Director, Tampa Bay Library Consortium. Chair
Mary Lehane, Manager, Resource Sharing Department, York University
Russell Palmer, Educational Services Librarian, Lyrasis
Final Selection Evaluation
The Rethinking Resource Sharing Awards Committee will evaluate the best qualified candidates to receive this award based on the quality of the contribution they made to create a user-centric service that has improved resource sharing. Factors considered in selection of the award winners:
- Impact on users
- Scalability
- Sustainability
- Ability for other libraries/consortia to replicate the idea
- Initiative and risk taking
Recipients will be announced at the ASCLA President’s Preconference, “Giving people what they want: information access in libraries and beyond”. The preconference will be held on June 25, 2010 at the American Library Association Annual Conference.
Recipients will be invited to attend the ASCLA President’s Preconference and present on their project. Travel stipends may be available to offset costs to attend. Further information will be provided.
Background:
The Rethinking Resource Sharing Initiative is an ad hoc group that advocates for a complete rethink of the way libraries conduct resource sharing in the context of the global internet revolution and all of the developments that have arisen from that. The group is advocating for a revolution in the way libraries conduct resource sharing. On-going funding for the Initiative is provided by OCLC, Inc. and BCR, with additional support from other organizations.