During ACRL Conference years, the IS Awards Ceremony takes place during the conference for the current and previous year awards winners. With the IS Chair serving as master of ceremony, the three IS awards – Innovation, Dudley , and Publication – are presented to their recipients, and the corporate sponsors of each award are gratefully acknowledged. The purpose of this tip sheet is to outline tasks associated with the virtual and in-person celebrations and the basic sequence of event , and to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the four persons involved: the IS Chair, the IS Awards Committee Chair, the Dudley Committee Chair, and the ACRL Awards Program Officer. Its aim is to establish shared expectations that help to ensure a smooth program befitting the prestige of the IS Awards and the honor due the award recipients. It is arranged in broad chronological order.
The IS Awards Committee broadly shares information about the award winners each April. The award winners are celebrated with some or any of the following activities each year.
- Coordinate publicity announcements with the Awards Committee chair and the Communications Committee so that all awards can be publicized as a group on ILI-L and the Section web site, and the IS and ACRL Facebook and Twitter accounts.
- A text-based Q&A with recipients is posted on the IS Blog/website and emailed to various IS social media channels (IS Twitter account, IS Facebook account, ILI-L listserv). Each of these Q&As can be compiled in full page-spreads for the following Fall IS Newsletter. Remember to include the call for nominations for the next year (see IS Awards Working Timeline).
- Published announcement in C&RL News with photo and story.
- Off cycle ACRL national conference years (even years): A potential awards presentation that is live streamed on YouTube, broadcast via webinar, or presented using some other platform.
- ACRL conference years (odd years): Recognition at the bi-annual ACRL conference for current and immediate past award winners in form of affiliate function at nearby hotel. IS will plan a celebration ceremony for current and previous award winners with speech time given to the Dudley award winners. This event will be accompanied by a social event sponsored by IS. There will be a collaboration with ACRL and the assigned hotel to arrange for coffee/tea, if IS budget allows.
Every year in April
- ACRL Awards Program Officer: Notifies current award winners and corporate sponsor and arranges for checks to be mailed around the time of Annual Conference.
- Current IS Awards Chair works with Dudley Subcommittee Chair, the IS communications Chair, and the ACRL Awards Program Officer: Send winner announcements to ILI-L, the IS Facebook account, the IS Twitter account, the ACRL level Facebook account, and the ACRL level Twitter account.
- IS Awards Chair works with the Dudley Subcommittee Chair and the ACRL Awards Program Officer: Write up information about the winners (including photos) in the April and May volumes of C&RL News.
- IS Awards Chair: Update information about award winners on the section website.
- Dudley Chair: Send a list of names and contact information for strong candidates worthy of future consideration (and their nominators), as well as other important materials to the IS Past IS chair who will chair the next Dudley Award Subcommittee.
Non-ACRL Conference Years (even years)
June/July
- IS Awards Chair: Work with ACRL Awards Program Officer to coordinate plaques to be sent via mail to award winners directly from ACRL around the time of Annual conference.
- IS Awards Chair: Work with ACRL Awards Program Officer to coordinate sending of check awards to be sent separately to award winners from ACRL.
ACRL Conference Years (odd years)
- IS Awards Chair: Confirm award recipients of current year and immediate past year can attend the next ACRL National Conference. Ask both recipients to prepare brief (approximately 5 minutes) remarks for the ceremony.
- IS Awards Chair: Ask current IS Chair to prepare very brief introductory remarks (5 minutes) regarding both Award recipients to be delivered at the ACRL Conference.
- IS Awards Chair and ACRL Awards Program Officer: ACRL will have the plaques made and awarded at the ACRL Conference for the previous and current year’s recipients. The Instruction Section will reimburse ACRL for the cost of the plaque.
- IS Awards Chair with Executive Committee Liaison: Work with affiliate hotel to plan coffee/tea social event to accompany the awards celebration.
Pre-Conference (February/March)
- ACRL Awards Program Officer: Orders the Publication, Dudley and Innovation plaques after verifying accuracy of text with IS Awards Committee. Make sure to note cost in IS Annual Budge document.
- IS Awards Chair: Collaborate with ACRL Awards Program Officer to plan details of ACRL conference. ACRL Awards Program Officer notifies award winners and corporate sponsors of date, time, and place of IS Awards ceremony, and confirms their attendance. Request all award winners and presenters (IS Chair, corporate sponsors) arrive 10 minutes early to meet IS Chair and Dudley Committee Chair to iron out last minute details.
- IS Awards Chair: Provide blurbs on Innovation and Publication Award winners to IS Chair for ceremony.
- Dudley Chair: Provides blurbs on Dudley Award winners to IS Chair for ceremony.
- IS Awards Chair: If awards winners are unable to attend the ACRL Conference, Awards Committee Chair, with support from the committee, will work with winner to pre-record a brief (1-2 minute) acceptance speech to play as part of the ceremony.
- IS Awards Chair: Prints a stand-in certificate for past year award winners for the ceremony. Note: The award plaques for past award winners will have been sent to the recipients in the previous year.
- If the IS Chair, the the IS Awards Committee Chair, or the Dudley Committee Chair are unable to attend the ACRL Conference, the IS Executive Committee will assign an alternate member to attend in order to assist with the ceremony and represent IS leadership (e.g. incoming Chair or Past Chair).
Pre-Ceremony (late March/early April)
- IS Awards Chair: Confirm with ACRL Award Program Officer there will be a photographer at the ceremony. Facilitate photographs.
- IS Awards Chair: Picks up plaques from ACRL office and bring to Awards ceremony.
- IS Chair: Introduce the award recipients at the ceremony. IS Chair presents the Rockman and Innovation awards, and introduces the Past Chair to present the Dudley Award. Each Dudley recipient gives brief remarks.
- ACRL Awards Program Officer: ACRL ships plaques for current award winners, including non-attendees, to ACRL Conference.
Ceremony
- IS, Dudley, and Awards Committee chairs arrive 10 minutes early to meet and greet sponsor reps and award winners and make brief preparations.
- IS Chair MCs: Opens ceremony; introduces corporate sponsor representatives; briefly describes winning project and publication and presents plaques to winners. Corporate sponsor representatives hand recipients their checks.
- Dudley Committee Chair: Describes accomplishments of Dudley Award winner and presents plaque to both winners and check to current winner.
- Both Dudley winners speak briefly, approximately 5 minutes each.
- IS Chair: Concludes ceremony.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER ACRL CONFERENCE
- Confirm photographs are sent to Dudley winner, as well as the chair(s) of the Awards committee and the IS Chair.
Note on Dispensation of Award Checks
Award Sponsors determine the dispensation of checks, which is subject to change from year to year. The ACRL Awards Program Officer serves as the primary point of contact with sponsors, however, and communicates details on this matter as they become available with the chairs of IS, the Awards Committee, and the Dudley Subcommittee. The award winner for the previous year will have their check sent via mail around the time of Annual Conference. Current award winners will receive their checks during the time of ALA Annual Conference. Current award winners will receive their checks during the ACRL conference and if not in attendance, sent via mail.
PLEASE NOTE: All celebration activities should be seen as a pilot and will be reviewed by the IS Executive Committee after the ACRL 2019 Conference.
Drafted June 2007 by Kathleen Gallagher, 2006-2007 IS Awards Chair. Updated by Susanna Eng-Ziskin, 2014-2015 IS Awards Chair. Updated by Maoria Kirker, 2017-2018 IS Awards Committee Chair; Jo Angela Oehrli, 2017-2018 IS Awards Vice Chair; Merinda Kaye Hensley IS Chair 2017-2018; and Jennifer Knievel IS Past Chairperson, 2017-2018.
