The Illinois Association of College & Research Libraries (IACRL) Awards Committee is putting together a proposal for a new annual award that would recognize excellence in scholarly publishing by Illinois academic and research librarians. The Illinois Library Association, of which IACRL is a forum, will review the proposal and decide on whether to create the award. The winner of the award would receive a certificate and a check at the Illinois Library Association Annual Conference each fall.
One of the requirements for submitting an award proposal is to have obtained a minimum three-year sponsorship. The sponsor would cover the cost of the monetary part of the award over that three-year period. While there is no set rule for the amount of the check the winner would receive each fall (other than that it be at least $200), similar awards, including the Illinois Academic Librarian of the Year Award, have a $500 amount. Therefore, the sponsor would need to cover $1,500 over a three-year period. Sponsorship of a lesser amount would be acceptable also, however, as long as it meets the $200 annual minimum. The sponsor would need to cover a $50 annual administrative fee, also, along with the cost of any certificate or plaque for the recipient.
More information about the procedures for creating a new award are available on the Illinois Library Association’s awards webpage (scroll halfway down). Additionally, the criteria for the award that the IACRL Awards Committee has put together are below.
- must be a current employee, full-time or part-time, of an Illinois academic or research library (all staff eligible, regardless of level of education, including whether or not posses a master’s degree in library science)
- membership in ILA and IACRL not required, as long as affiliated with an Illinois academic or research library or organization
- publication or other scholarly communication must have appeared within the last calendar year before the deadline for award submissions
- publication may take the form of a book chapter, journal article, blog post, or other form of scholarly communication
- presentations at conferences, symposia, or other events are acceptable, as long as they take the form of a written report or overview, in addition to just an oral presentation or poster
- pre-publication work acceptable, as long as nominee plans to submit a final version for inclusion in a scholarly journal, monograph, blog, or other means of communication
- publications for which one is a co-author (as opposed to a solo author) are acceptable, as long as the nominee played a substantial role in researching, writing, and revising the publication; if the co-author or co-authors are not Illinois-based, or if they are in Illinois but work in a field other than librarianship, that is fine, as long as the actual nominee meets the award criteria
- content of publication or other scholarly communication must be relevant to issues affecting Illinois academic and research libraries
- submission should describe a project, initiative, program, survey, or other activity that readers could realistically apply at their own institutions (in other words, shouldn’t be merely promoting the author’s or authors’ own work or accomplishments)
- winner selected based on quality of submission’s writing and scholarly research, along with usefulness of discussed program or project to Illinois academic and research libraries
- winner will receive a certificate and a check for $500 (or another amount, depending on sponsorship)
If your organization would be interested in sponsoring the award, or if you have any questions, please contact Eric Edwards, IACRL Awards Committee Chair, at eedwards@ilsos.gov.