ACRL has long honored outstanding contributions to the profession through its annual awards program. In 2020, the Board deemed that changes occurring within the Association and across the professional landscape warranted a review and a pause to the program while those transformations took place. Earlier this year, the ACRL Board of Directors opted to continue the pause on ACRL’s award program. ACRL has now formed the ACRL Awards Process Implementation Task Force to consider all ACRL awards and make specific, implementable recommendations for streamlining the ACRL awards process.
The Task Force is comprised of 19 members, including stakeholders from multiple communities. The Board is delighted that Lori Goetsch, Dean and Professor Emerita Kansas State University, and John Lehner, Librarian Emeritus, University of Houston Libraries, have agreed to serve as co-chairs. They will provide a preliminary verbal progress report at the ACRL Board II Virtual Meeting on February 17, 2023, an interim report during the ALA Annual Conference in June 2023, and a final report for the 2024 ALA Annual Conference. The Awards Process Implementation Task Force will focus on the recommendations made in the January 2022 report of the Awards Task Force.
In addition to our work in ACRL, ALA is looking at awards across the association and has formed a staff member Cross Functional Team (CFT) toward that end. Several other ALA divisions are likewise looking at changes to their programs, making an ALA-wide approach welcome. The CFT is in the early phases of its work and preliminary discussions suggest that the group will focus on two areas: awards given to people in recognition of service and book and media awards. We look forward to the work of this CFT as it may inform our work in ACRL.
We appreciate your continued engagement and feedback as we strive to reimagine the ACRL awards program so that it serves our membership while remaining sustainable and equitable.
– Erin L. Ellis, 2022-23 ACRL President