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LSAA Awards

The Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes an individual alumnus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of Library and Information Science. The Leadership Award recognizes a recipient of the Master's degree from GSLIS who has graduated in the past 10 years and who has shown leadership in the field of Library and Information Science. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a friend of GSLIS including faculty, staff, alumni and non-alumni, who has served LSAA or GSLIS in an exceptional way. The Student Award recognizes a student who "caught the spirit" of the library and information science profession while employed in a library setting and so chose to enter the master's program.

Call for Nominations

The Library School Alumni Association (LSAA) is seeking nominations for the three distinguished alumni awards it gives annually at the GSLIS alumni reception held at the American Library Association Conference. Deadline for application each year is April 1.

To submit a nomination, please send the candidate's name, present position, and specific reasons for the nomination to:

LSAA Awards Committee
GSLIS Office of Advancement
501 E. Daniel Street
Champaign, IL 61820-6211
phone: (217) 333-2973
email: -lis-dev, at uiuc.edu-

The nominator's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address must be included. Supporting documentation, additional materials, and/or references will be appreciated. All materials must be e-mailed or postmarked by April 1.

Award Descriptions

Library School Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award Guidelines (Revised 04/17/2004)

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Distinguished Alumnus Award is to recognize an individual alumnus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of library and information science.

II. Eligibility

A. Only living alumni of the GSLIS are eligible to be nominated for this award. For purposes of definition, an alumnus is any person who graduated from the GSLIS or its predecessors in library and information science.

B. The nominee shall have made significant contributions in the library and information science field benefiting his/her community, state, or nation.

C. The nominee need not be a member of the GSLIS Library School Alumni Association (LSAA).

D. The award may be given posthumously.

III. Award

A. The award shall consist of a certificate.

B. The award shall be presented at a reception held for UIUC GSLIS graduates, at the annual membership meeting of the Association, or other appropriate event at which the recipient or a designee is present.

C. Announcement of the recipient's name shall be made after the recipient is officially notified and the recipient has accepted.

D. Incidental expenses for meals, lodging, etc., may be paid by the LSAA in an amount to be determined annually by the Board.

E. The recipient's name shall be inscribed on a Distinguished Alumnus Award plaque. The plaque will remain on open display in the quarters of the GSLIS or in the GSLIS Library.

F. The recipient shall be or shall be invited to become a member of the University of Illinois Alumni Association and the LSAA.

IV. Nominations

A. Nominations may be submitted by 1) any member of the LSAA, 2) any current or former member of the GSLIS faculty and staff, 3) any alumnus of the GSLIS, 4) any member of the Award Committee, 5) or any current GSLIS student.

B. All nominations must be made in writing and must include complete biographical information; a statement outlining the nominee's achievements in the field of library and information science; and include the name and address of the person making the nomination.

C. Nominations must be submitted no later than the deadline set in the Call for Nominations.

D. In rare cases, more than one award may be given in one year.

E. All nominations for the Distinguished Alumnus Award shall be continued in force for the following two successive years. After that time, they may be resubmitted.

F. If, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, no worthy candidate is nominated in a given year, the award will not be presented that year.

V. Award Committee

A. The Awards Committee shall consist of the vice president/president-elect who shall serve as the chair of the committee. In addition, the Dean of GSLIS or designee, the vice-chair of the GSLIS Executive Committee (as a GSLIS Faculty representative), and two other Association members appointed by the president shall be invited to serve on the Awards Committee.

B. The chair of the Awards Committee will prepare a written report, including nominations and recommendations, to be submitted to the LSAA Board for action at its next meeting.

VI. UIUC Library School Alumni Association Executive Board

A. The LSAA Executive Board is responsible for approving the recommendation of the Awards Committee and for notifying the recipient.

B. The LSAA Executive Board is responsible for coordinating with the GSLIS LSAA liaison all publicity relating to the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Past Winners

1987 Beverly Lynch
1988 Edward Holley
1989 Charles Bunge
1990 Jessie Carney Smith
1991 Robert Wedgeworth
1992 Ralph McCoy
1993 Kathryn Luther Henderson
1994 Laurel Grotzinger
1995 Bridget Lamont
1996 Mary Dempsey
1997 Barbara Ford
1998 Ellis Mount
1999 Samuel F. Morrison
2000 Guy St. Clair
2001 Ruth Carter, Guy Garrison
2002 Jane Bolster Nida
2003 Edward Barrett Stanford
2004 Donald G. Davis, Jr., Donna Dziedzic
2005 Linda Smith
2006 Mohamed Mohamed El-Hadi, Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson
2007 Kathryn Harris
2008 Gail Fish Bush

Library School Alumni Association Leadership Award Guidelines (Revised 4/17/2004)

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Leadership Award is to recognize a recipient of the master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) who has graduated in the past 10 years and who has shown leadership in the field of library and information science.

II. Eligibility

A. Alumni of the GSLIS who received the master's degree not more than ten years previous to the current year's application deadline are eligible to be nominated for this award.

B. The nominee shall have made significant contributions in the library and information science field benefitting his/her community, state, or nation.

C. The nominee need not be a member of the GSLIS Library School Alumni Association (LSAA).

D. The award may be given posthumously.

III. Award

A. The award shall consist of a certificate.

B. The award shall be presented at a reception held for UIUC GSLIS graduates, at the annual membership meeting of the Association, or other appropriate event at which the recipient or a designee is present.

C. Announcement of the recipient's name shall be made after the recipient is officially notified and the recipient has accepted.

D. Incidental expenses for meals, lodging, etc., may be paid by the LSAA in an amount to be determined annually by the Board.

E. The recipient's name shall be inscribed on a Leadership Award plaque. The plaque will remain on open display in the quarters of the GSLIS or in the GSLIS Library.

F. The recipient shall be or shall be invited to become a member of the University of Illinois Alumni Association and the LSAA.

IV. Nominations

A. Nominations may be submitted by 1) any member of the LSAA, 2) any current or former member of the GSLIS faculty and staff, 3) any alumnus of the GSLIS, 4) any member of the Award Committee, 5) or any current GSLIS student.

B. All nominations must be made in writing and should include complete biographical information; a statement outlining the nominee's achievements in the field of library and information science; and the name and address of the person making the nomination.

C. Nominations must be submitted no later than the deadline set in the Call for Nominations.

D. In rare cases, more than one award may be given in one year.

E. All nominations for Leadership Award shall be continued in force for the following two successive years, provided that the nominee would not have received the master's degree more than ten years ago, as defined in Section II (A) above.

F. If, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, no worthy candidate is nominated in a given year, the award will not be presented that year.

V. Award Committee

A. The Awards Committee shall consist of the vice president/president-elect who shall serve as the chair of the committee. In addition, the Dean of the GSLIS or designee, the vice-chair of the GSLIS Executive Committee (as a GSLIS Faculty representative), and two other Association members appointed by the president shall be invited to serve on the awards committee.

B. The chair of the Awards Committee will prepare a written report, including nominations and recommendations, to be submitted to the LSAA Board for action at its next meeting.

VI. UIUC Library School Alumni Association--Executive Board

A. The LSAA Executive Board is responsible for approving the recommendation of the Awards Committee and for notifying the recipient.

B. The LSAA Executive Board is responsible for coordinating with the GSLIS LSAA liaison all publicity relating to the Leadership Award.

Past Winners

1996 Diane Kovacs
1997 Carol Erickson
1998 Karen Schneider
1999 Steven J. Oberg
2000 Daniel Burgard
2001 Elizabeth Dupuis
2002 Julie A. James
2003 Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe
2004 Elaina Norlin
2005 Rebecca Graham
2006 Richard Pearce-Moses
2007 Robin Brenner
2008 Jennifer Ward

Library School Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award Guidelines (Revised 10/27/2001)

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Distinguished Service Award is to recognize a friend of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library School Alumni Association (LSAA), or the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS), including faculty, staff, alumni and non-alumni, who has served the LSAA or GSLIS in an exceptional way.

II. Eligibility

A. Faculty, staff, supporters and alumni of the GSLIS are eligible to be nominated for this award. For purposes of definition, an alumnus is any person who graduated from the GSLIS or its predecessors in library and information science.

B. The nominee shall have made significant contributions to the LSAA and/or to the GSLIS.

C. The nominee need not be a member of the LSAA.

D. The award may be given posthumously.

III. Award

A. The award shall consist of a certificate.

B. The award shall be presented at the reception held for UIUC GSLIS graduates, at the annual membership meeting of the Association, or other appropriate event at which the recipient or a designee is present.

C. Announcement of the recipient's name shall be made after the recipient is officially notified and the recipient has accepted.

D. Incidental expenses for meals, lodging, etc., may be paid by the UIUC LSAA in an amount to be determined annually by the Board.

E. The recipient's name shall be inscribed on a Distinguished Service Award plaque. The plaque will remain on open display in the quarters of the GSLIS or in the GSLIS Library.

F. The recipient shall be, or shall be invited to become, a member of the University of Illinois Alumni Association and the LSAA.

IV. Nominations

A. Nominations may be submitted by 1) any member of the LSAA, 2) any current or former member of the GSLIS faculty and staff, 3) any alumnus of the GSLIS, 4) any member of the Award Committee, 5) or any current GSLIS student.

B. All nominations must be made in writing and should include complete biographical information; a statement outlining the nominee's contributions to the LSAA or to the GSLIS; and the name and address of the person making the nomination.

C. Nominations must be submitted no later than the deadline set in the Call for Nominations.

D. In rare cases, more than one award may be given in one year.

E. All nominations for the Distinguished Service Award shall be continued in force for the following two successive years. After that time, they may be resubmitted.

F. If, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, no worthy candidate is nominated in a given year, the award will not be presented that year.

V. Award Committee

A. The Awards Committee shall consist of the vice president/president-elect who shall serve as the chair of the committee. In addition, the Dean of the GSLIS or designee, the vice-chair of the GSLIS Executive Committee (as a GSLIS Faculty representative), and two other Association members appointed by the president shall be invited to serve on the awards committee.

B. The chair of the Awards Committee will prepare a written report, including nominations and recommendations, to be submitted to the LSAA Board for action at its next meeting.

VI. UIUC Library School Alumni Association Executive Board

A. The LSAA Executive Board is responsible for approving the recommendation of the Awards Committee and for notifying the recipient.

B. The LSAA Executive Board is responsible for coordinating with the GSLIS LSAA liaison all publicity relating to the Distinguished Service Award.

Past Winners

1993 Helen Knights
1994 Peggy Harris
1997 Patricia Stenstrom
1998 John Littlewood
1999 Stella (Frankie) Mosborg
2000 Terry Weech
2001 Leigh Estabrook
2002 Lionelle Elsesser
2003 Barbara J. Lintner
2004 Nancy Gillfillan
2005 Jean Koch
2006 Susan K. Barrick
2007 Mary Wilkes Towner
2008 Curt McKay

Library School Alumni Association Student Award

The LSAA Student Award recognizes a student who "caught the spirit" of the library and information science profession while employed in a library setting and so chose to enter the master's program. This student must have a strong commitment to return to a professional position in a library setting and help others "catch the spirit."

In 2001 the Board of Directors of the Library School Alumni Association voted to provide an annual award to a student at Convocation. This award is to recognize involvement in and commitment to the library and information science profession prior to, during and after the master's program. Since the birth of both the Graduate School of Library and Information Science and the Library School Alumni Association over 100 years ago, many GSLIS alumni have "caught the spirit" of the profession through an entry level position working in a library setting. This award recognizes this spirit and honors the librarians in our past who fostered its growth.

The award recipient is selected by the faculty and is presented the award and an honorarium for $100 at Convocation, as well as introduced at the LSAA Annual Business Meeting and Reception during the American Library Association Annual Conference.

Past Winners

2001 Rose Allen
2002 David Monroe
2003 Gwen Evans
2004 M. Brooke Helman
2005 Jomichele Seidl
2006 Honore Bray
2007 Helen Linda
2008 Alex Reczkowski