Academic Librarianship Award

First awarded in 1992, the Academic Librarianship award recognizes excellent contribution toward academic librarianship, broadly defined.

The recipient will be presented with a plaque and a monetary award of $500.00. 

Individuals may be nominated for this award on the basis of excellent performance in providing to all members of the academic community the fullest possible access to library materials, facilities, and information. 

Eligibility and criteria

An individual who is a member of the UGFA at the date of nomination is eligible for the award. A Member may receive an Award only once.  

Nominated individuals shall have shown excellent performance in providing the fullest access to library materials, facilities, and information to all academic community members. Individuals may have shown excellent performance in any of the following areas: 

  • The acquisition, cataloguing, and processing of library materials to organize and structure access to the collection 
  • Bibliographic instruction and library orientation classes in support of academic programs 
  • Development and evaluation of collections to enhance the value for teaching and research 
  • Development of innovative library procedures and systems to improve access to internal and external library resources and services
  • Effective, efficient, and innovative administration and management to achieve the service and workplace objectives of the Library’s mission statement 
  • Management of collection resources to ensure access to library resources 
  • Professional service to the university, to librarianship, or the community, which brings recognition to the value and achievements of academic librarianship
  • Provision of service and information to faculty, students, and the community at large, to facilitate learning and the development of new knowledge 
  • Research and publication in library science or other academic disciplines 

While there are no fixed criteria for selecting award winners, preference is normally given to nominees who 

  • Have been successful in several areas
  • Have letters of support from more than one constituency
  • Are judged to be “truly excellent” rather than merely “very good” 
  • Have made a positive contribution to the library’s academic mission and fostered users’ ability to succeed in their academic endeavours. 

Nominations

Nominations may be made by students, Faculty, or Librarian members at the University of Guelph. Nominations must clearly indicate

  1. Name of the nominee 
  2. Documentation to support the nomination (see below)
  3. Name and phone number of the nominator

Closing date for Nominations: April 05 

Closing date for Supporting Material: April 19

To facilitate the deliberations of the Awards Committee, each nomination package should include the following: 

  1. Table of contents
  2. Signed Nominee Acceptance Form
  3. Tabs to separate and identify the various sections of the package; 
  4. Nominees CV, which should include professional practice, research & scholarship, and service 
  5. Signed nominator’s letter. This letter summarizes the highlights of the nomination package, with special focus on areas of excellence as described under “Eligibility and criteria” above. This letter should represent the core of the case and offer a picture of where and with what priority the supporting documents fit in. Documents seldom speak for themselves; they are invariably more useful when summarized, abstracted, and explained by someone on the scene and familiar with the nominee.
  6. Letters of support from more than one constituency. The strongest letters address specific areas of excellence and the impact of the nominee. Letters must be current and prepared specifically for the UGFA Award nomination. 

Past winners

2024: Karen Nicholson

2021: Ali Versluis

2020: Melissa McAfee

2018: Melanie Parlette-Stewart

2016: Dave Hudson

2015: Randy Oldham

2009: Peggy Pritchard

2005: Linda Graburn

2004:Lorna Rourke

2001: David Hull

1999: Tim Sauer, Lorne Bruce

1998: Gabriel Pal

1997: Bernard Katz

1996: Lorne Bruce

1992: Ellen Pearson