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Nomination period now open for ASCLA awards recognizing service to profession and outstanding service to special populations

The Association for Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) is now accepting nominations for its 2014 awards which recognize projects focused on library services to people with disabilities; the advancement of library services for the blind and physically handicapped; exceptional achievement in extension and outreach services; exemplary leadership and achievement in consulting, state library services and library cooperatives; and service to ASCLA.

Each of these five prestigious awards–the Leadership and Professional Achievement Award, the Exceptional Service Award, the Cathleen Bourdon Service Award, the ASCLA/KLAS/NOD Award and the Francis Joseph Campbell Award–highlights the areas of work represented by ASCLA, a division of ALA. The nomination deadline for all awards is February 1, 2014. Click on the award names below to access each award’s webpage for more information, including nomination criteria and links to nomination forms, which are available in both PDF and Word format. Submission instructions are on each nomination form. Questions about the ASCLA awards program should be sent to Susan Hornung (shornung@ala.org) or 312-280-4395.

The ASCLA/KLAS/NOD Award is sponsored by ASCLA, the National Organization on Disability (NOD) and Keystone Systems, Inc. This $1,000 award and citation are given to a library organization that has provided services for people with disabilities. The award recognizes an innovative and well-organized project that successfully developed or expanded services for people with disabilities. The award can be for a specific service(s) program or for a library that has made its total services more accessible through changing physical and/or attitudinal barriers

The Francis Joseph Campbell Award honors a person or institution for outstanding and significant contributions in this field of service with a medal and a citation. Contributions include but are not limited to: an imaginative and constructive program in a particular library; a recognized contribution to the national library program for blind persons; creative participation in library associations or organizations that advance reading for the blind; a significant publication or writing in the field; or imaginative contribution to library administration, reference, circulation, selection, acquisitions or technical services; or any activity of recognized importance. The award is sponsored by Keystone Systems, Inc. and the Southern Conference of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress.

The Exceptional Service Award recognizes exceptional service to patients, to persons who are homebound, to people of all ages who live in group homes or residences and to inmates, as well as to recognize professional leadership, effective interpretation of programs, pioneering activity and significant research or experimental projects. The recipient receives a citation.

The Leadership and Professional Achievement Award is a citation presented to one or more ASCLA members (personal or organizational) exemplifying leadership and achievement in the following areas: consulting, library cooperation, networking, statewide services and programs and state library development.

The Cathleen Bourdon Service Award is a citation presented to an ASCLA personal member for exceptional service and sustained leadership to the division. This includes participation in activities that have enhanced the stature, reputation and overall strength of ASCLA and have also cultivated the division’s relationship with other appropriate organizations, institutions or governmental agencies.

Those interested in submitting a nomination may download the appropriate award nomination form from the awards section of the ASCLA website. Nominations for all awards must be received by Feb. 1, 2014. Submission information can be found on each nomination form. Contact ASCLA Executive Director Susan Hornung with any questions: shornung@ala.org or 312-280-4395.

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NEWS: Accessibility advocate Ruth Nussbaum wins ASCLA’s 2013 Cathleen Bourdon Service Award

Read the official ALA press release here.

Ruth Nussbaum
Ruth Nussbaum

CHICAGO – Ruth J. Nussbaum, retired reference librarian, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, is the recipient of the 2013 Cathleen Bourdon Service Award for exceptional service to and sustained leadership for the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of ALA.

The Cathleen Bourdon Service Award is presented annually to an ASCLA member whose leadership and involvement in the division has enhanced the stature, reputation and overall strength of ASCLA and has also cultivated the division’s relationship with other appropriate organizations, institutions or government agencies. In 22 years of continuous service, Nussbaum has provided mentorship and friendship both inside and outside of the ASCLA community. She has been at the front lines of library service and ASCLA activities, initiating positive changes and improvements to library services for people with disabilities. Most importantly, in all of her work, she has led by example, inspiring ASCLA colleagues and a new generation of ASCLA members

Nussbaum has an extensive record of professional involvement in ASCLA, ALA and other associations such as the American Indian Library Association. As an ASCLA member since 1990, Nussbaum has played an active part in representing the librarians serving special populations constituency of ASCLA as part of the Century Scholarship committee, a representative to the ASCLA Board of Directors, chair of the Francis Joseph Campbell Award Committee and member of the ASCLA Awards Committee, chair of the Librarians Serving Special Populations Section of ASCLA and representative to the ASCLA board. She also served as an ALA councilor-at-large from 2004-2007. She has made significant contributions to important professional documents and guidelines, including accessibility policies for both ALA and ASCLA, fact sheets, bibliographies and other publications addressing library services for people with disabilities.

Nussbaum worked as a reference librarian at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, from 1987 through her retirement in 2012. Prior to this position, she spent time as the acquisitions library associate at the Gallaudet University Library, librarian and administrator at the Huntington Free Library and Reading Room at the Depository for the Museum of the American Indian and as a Head Start teacher in the Redhook neighborhood of Brooklyn. She earned her M.L.S. from Southern Connecticut State University.

Nussbaum will receive the ASCLA Leadership and Professional Achievement Award at the ASCLA/COSLA Reception, 5:45 – 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29 in Field 20A-C, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, as a part of the 2013 ALA Annual Conference. Add the event to your conference schedule. All conference attendees are invited to this networking and awards event.

ASCLA, a small, mighty and growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), is a diverse organization of librarians and support staff who work in academic and public libraries, state agencies, specialized libraries and cooperatives, as well as those who are self-employed. Our division’s work centers on member-driven interest groups that represent the diversity and important work of our engaged and active members. Learn more about ASCLA and how to join this innovative division.

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New Jersey State Library’s Moeller-Peiffer honored with Cathleen Bourdon Service Award for contributions to ASCLA

Read the official ALA press release here.

Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer, associate state librarian, New Jersey State Library, is the 2012 recipient of the Cathleen Bourdon Service Award, an annual achievement award given by the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association.

The award, which is named for former ASCLA Executive Director Cathleen Bourdon, is presented to an ASCLA personal member for exceptional service and sustained leadership to the division. This includes participation in activities that have enhanced the stature, reputation and overall strength of ASCLA and have also cultivated the division’s relationship with other appropriate organizations, institutions or government agencies.

As an ASCLA member, Moeller-Peiffer has worked tirelessly on programs and activities that inform and strengthen the professional contributions of ASCLA and its members in the community at large and within ALA. As a part of ASCLA’s Legislative Advocacy Committee and ALA’s Advocacy Coordinating Group, she has communicated with policy makers at all levels of government on the value and strength of libraries. Through her role on ALA’s E-rate Task Force she has conveyed to federal officials the concerns of libraries and schools on the discounted telecommunication rate program.

Moeller-Peiffer has also strengthened ASCLA as an organization through her service as chair of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Coordinators Group and chair of ASCLA’s State Library Agency Section (SLAS), and her membership on numerous committees, forums and programs. During her time as chair of ASCLA’s Membership Committee, she developed the Value Proposition Report that analyzed the benefits of ASCLA membership and developed proposals for promoting and expanding membership.

Moeller-Peiffer will receive her award at the ASCLA/COSLA Networking Party and Awards Reception, which will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 23, 2012 at one of the ALA Annual Conference hotels in Anaheim, Calif. All conference attendees are invited to this event, which will celebrate this year’s ASCLA award winners and also feature peer-to-peer networking activities. More information will be available at www.ala.org/ascla in late spring.