Nancy B. Olson Award

The Nancy B. Olson Award Committee is now accepting nominations.

The annual Nancy B. Olson award (formerly called "OLAC Award") recognizes and honors a librarian who has made significant contributions to the advancement and understanding of audiovisual cataloging. The Awards Committee selects a recipient based on nominations received, subject to approval by the Executive Board at the midwinter meeting.

Eligibility for nomination is as follows:

• Nominees may be OLAC members, but membership in the organization is not a requirement.
  
• The nomination must be accompanied by a statement that provides supporting evidence of the nominee's qualifications.
  
• Nominees shall have made contributions to audiovisual cataloging by:
  • Furthering the goals of standardization of AV and/or computer file cataloging, including MARC coding and tagging;
    
  • Interpreting AV and/or computer file cataloging rules and developing policies on organization for these materials on the national and/or international levels;
    
  • Promoting the understanding of AV and/or computer file cataloging, coding and data exchange by professionals unfamiliar with these materials and processes.

The award recipient will receive an engraved plaque containing an inscription recognizing his/her special contribution to the field.

Submit all nominations and supporting documentation by Friday, February 15.

Movers & Shakers

A request from Library Journal.

“Hi there folks, a simple request from your friendly neighborhood LJ editor here: help us get the word out about nominations for 2013 class of Movers & Shakers. If you have any outstanding peers and colleagues in mind, go ahead and submit early and often here: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/lj-movers-shakers/

Likewise, if you have any opportunity to spread the word about nominations to your colleagues via Twitter, Facebook, email lists, in-person nudges, etc., that would also be a tremendous help to us in getting a stellar batch of Movers set for the March 15 issue. Nominations are due November 7.

I'm not sure how many nominations LJ gets for these awards. I know that when I was on the Texas Library Association's Award Committee we got very few. The odds of winning if a deserving person was nominated were very good.

Another reason to nominate someone is it is good PR for the library. If you're a manager having a Movers & Shaker on our staff can generate plenty of good press. Just the fact that you think enough of someones performance to make the nomination is good for staff moral. Even if they don't win their (and your library's) exceptional work has been read and reviewed by a committee. That alone is good PR. Maybe it will lead to an invitation to speak or write and a win next year.

What I'm saying is do take the time to send in nominations. There is little to lose and plenty to gain.

NETSL Award for Excellence in Technical Services

Is there a technical services librarian in your life who has inspired you? Do you have a colleague who has tackled today's challenges in technical services and triumphed? Do you know a person who leads the way in innovation, collaboration, or data integration? Is there someone you know who puts the service in technical services? If you know of a person who merits these descriptions, please tell us the name of your nominee by March 30, 2012.

The NETSL Award for Excellence in Technical Services will be presented at the NETSL Annual Spring Conference, iLibrary: Digital Futures for Libraries, to be held on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA. Details of the conference can be found at http://www.nelib.org/netsl/2012conference

Eligibility and details for nominations are:

• Nominees may be NETSL/NELA members, but membership in the Association is not a requirement.
  
• NETSL membership is not required to make a nomination.
  
• A nomination must be accompanied by a written statement that includes the reasons for nomination and a narrative summary of the nominee's career and achievements. It is strongly advised that the nomination include the nominee's resume or CV.
  
• Current members of the NETSL Executive Board are not eligible for consideration.

Further details can be found at http://www.nelib.org/netsl/award

Awards

This past year I had the pleasure of serving on the Texas Library Association's Award Committee. I have two observations after the experience.

First, there are a lot of very talented, hard-working, innovative people in our profession. And not just catalogers, but school librarians, youth, children's, reference, managers all doing amazing things. Librarians really are a special group of people.

Second, that nowhere near enough of us apply for awards. If my experience was typical there should have been many more submissions than we received. We did ask and ask again. One notice I sent out to the cataloging and special library community had almost 400 click-throughs and yet zero submissions. It does take some time to fill in the application but to recognize a special employee or group of employees should be worth the time. Even if they don't win, seeing that application and knowing their work was appreciated is worth something. Having the committee read just how wonderful your staff and library is also has value. You never know when good PR will benefit your institution.

So, next time you see an announcement for an award think about who you know that deserves one and toss their name in the hat.

2011 Library Blog Awards

Salem press is sponsoring the 2011 Library Blog Awards. Nominate your favorite.

Blogs about libraries continue to spread across the web, with hundreds of people writing about books, libraries, and related subjects. Last year Salem Press set out on a mission to reward the achievements of librarian bloggers. Several hundred blogs by and about librarians entered the pool of nominations when the contest was announced. After the votes were tallied, 16 blogs were awarded prizes in five topical categories. Some were well-known and well-established, others on the rise or newly discovered.

Related articles

• The LISNews Blogs To Read in 2011 | LISNews: (lisnews.org)

TLA Awards

The deadline is fast approaching for the Texas Association Library awards. Even if you or the person you nominate doesn't win it is still good to recognise merit. Supervisors, your employees will appreciate that you think highly enough of their work to nominate them. Your library, project or deserving individual will at least be exposed to the Awards Committee and maybe all of TLA. This is an excellent tool for marketing as well as rewarding.

Texas Librarians

Each year the Texas Library Association recognizes contributions and excellence in our profession through the TLA Awards. TLA depends on its members to identify those individuals, organizations, and projects most worthy of recognition for having advanced the cause of Texas Libraries.

The 2010 Awards include:

• Librarian of the Year Award Recognizes extraordinary leadership or service within the library community within the past 12-18 months.
• Distinguished Service Award Recognizes outstanding and continuing service in one or more areas of the library profession.
• Lifetime Achievement Award Recognizes an exemplary career in librarianship.
• Outstanding Services to Libraries Award Given to an individual or to an organization in recognition of outstanding lay advocacy.
• Wayne Williams Library Project of the Year Award Recognizes a project that exemplifies the highest levels of achievement, professional standards, and inspiration to other libraries.
• Libraries Change Communities Award Given to a collaborative community effort that recognizes positive achievements and promotes outstanding library based initiatives in Texas.
• Benefactor(s) Award Recognizes substantial donations.

Complete information about each award and the nomination procedure is available online. Submitting a nomination is not difficult! Nominations are made entirely online and are open from September 15, 2009 to January 15, 2010. For additional information about submitting nominations, please contact the Awards Committee Chair, Sue Compton, at 972-874-6151 or via email at sue.compton@flower-mound.com.

Movers and Shakers

If you nominated someone better do it again.

Nominations for Library Journal's Movers and Shakers that were made before November 5 were not captured and stored on LJ's server. We need you to go back and Renominate those people. We are assured that the electronic nomination form is working, but if you prefer, you can supply all the information requested on the form and either fax it to 646-746-6734, or send it in an e-mail to Francine Fialkoff, fialkoff@reedbusiness.com. The deadline has been extended to November 28.

Movers & Shakers 2008

Nominate someone you know.

The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. Our seventh annual Movers & Shakers supplement will profile 50-plus up-and-coming individuals from across the United States and Canada who are innovative, creative, and making a difference. From librarians to vendors to others who work in the library field, Movers & Shakers 2008 will celebrate the new professionals who are moving our libraries ahead. Movers & Shakers 2008 will be distributed with the March 15 issue of Library Journal.

Deadline for submissions is extended to November 15, 2007!