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Click here to download award nomination guidelines and requirements.
Review the Criteria and Eligibility below.
Purpose
This award recognizes excellence in providing assistance to library users as they seek and use information.
Eligibility
Nominees can be an individual, group, department, or library. The nominee should be a personal ILA member or be employed by an institution that is an ILA member. The ILA Awards Committee selects the recipient.
Criteria
Nominee's contribution(s) to reference services may take the form of:
- Specialized or innovative programs or services;
- Service to the library profession through active participation in professional organizations (at the local, state, or national level);
- The nominee has influenced and/or cooperated with persons or organizations within his/her community in the planning or presenting of programs or services for; and
- The nominee has reached and affected persons outside his/her own community by deed, idea, and/or example.
The written nomination statement should support one or more of the applicable criteria. Attach any supporting documentation.
Award Winners
The recipient will receive a certificate and a $250 financial award.
Please note that monetary award amounts are subject to change without notice and are contingent upon sponsor funding supplied at the time the award is presented.
Nomination Deadline
May 15
Nomination Submissions
The nominator’s statement of support should address all criteria under the individual awards as outlined. Nominator must submit the nomination form and attach all support statements, letters, and documentation, etc. required by the award’s criteria.
If a group, department, or organization is chosen as the award winner, the individual members of the group will be collectively recognized. If more than one individual nominates the same person, only one nominator will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony. ILA must receive all nominations by May 15.
Previous Reference Services Award winners
1993 Mary Goulding
1994 Felicia Sworsky
1995 Marian Milling
1996 Betty Roberson
1997 Jay Larson
1998 Kathryn M. Harris and the African American History Committee, Illinois State Historical Library
1999 Laura Haule
2000 Suburban Library System Service Research Librarians: Jolene Carlson, Laura Johnson, Glenn Kersten, Nell Ingalls, and Cris Sakalas
2001 William Goodfellow
2002 Christine Stupegia, Linda Mathias, and Kendi Kelley
2003 Adult Reading Round Table
2004 Lala Rodgers
2005 Oak Park Public Library and Illinois Clicks!
2006 no award
2007 no award
2008 Carolyn Mulac
2009 RASSL, Reference Association of South Suburban Libraries
2010 My Info Quest
2011 William J. Pardue
2012 Batavia Public Library District
2013 Kara Kohn
2014 Patrick Coffey
2015 Lindsay Holbrook
2016 Pembroke Public Library
2017 Alexander Annen
2018 Anthony "Tony" Kierna
2019 Stacey Knight-Davis
2020 Johnna Schultz
2021 Steven Giese
2022 no award
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