(via the Illinois Library Association)
The Illinois Library Association (ILA) announces Sara Benson, Copyright Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), as the 2020 Crosman Memorial Award Winner. The Crosman Award is named in memory of Alex Crosman, director of the Peoria Public Library at the time of his death in 1986. The award recognizes the achievements of library workers who are new or relatively new to the field and encourages continued involvement in the profession. Other awards honor those who have accomplished a great deal over a long period of time; this award honors someone who has accomplished a great deal in a short time.
In Sara’s position as Copyright Librarian at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, she answers hundreds of complicated copyright references questions every year. She also provides copyright reference services to the Illinois public. Sara always makes an effort to create open access resources that others can easily reuse. For example, she has a YouTube Channel where she posts open access copyright primers and she hosts a regular podcast where she interviews experts and stakeholders about copyright. She is actively involved in open educational resources at the state level, cochairing the CARLI OER Taskforce from 2019-2020. Recently, she was appointed Interim Head of the Scholarly Commons at the UIUC Library and is the editor of a bestselling ALA publication on copyright.
The Crosman Memorial Award will be presented at a ceremony that will be held in conjunction with the 2020 Illinois Library Association Annual Conference, which will take place virtually in October.
To view the official press release, please go here. A list of all of the 2020 ILA award winners is available here.