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Last Update
16 June 2013
Introduction
See also Applying for grants | Applying for sabbaticals | Budgeting in research | Research Portal for Academic Librarians
Academic librarians are always eligible to apply for awards to honour their peers, for contributions to the profession, to bestow distinction in providing services in good times and bad, or based on specific achievements in the community or in research. Most awards, however, require someone will nominate you for consideration based on the provision of service excellence or persevering in your work in unusual circumstances. Some awards require considerable documentation. With respect to grants, these may be increasingly necessary for those librarians who have specific research projects or activities they have in mind or that they want to pursue. The main purpose of applying for grants is to assist academic and research librarians in completing their research goals. Applying for grants and awards is invariably competitive but well worth the effort if it provides some forward impetus or focus for academic librarians in reaching their goals.
Nominations
In nominating colleagues for awards, keep a few things in mind, and try to address your nomination by answering each question:
- Has the candidate been successful in more than one area of academic librarianship?
- Do they have the support of several constituencies; students, library and faculty colleagues, alumni, administrators
- Is the candidate judged to be "truly outstanding", or are they merely "very good"?
- How has the candidate contributed to the intellectual, scholarly, and community functions of their institutions?
The best evidence that can speak to the fact someone is an outstanding academic librarian is documentation. The documentation should show that the nominee has functioned well in making information available to the university community and in integrating library services with teaching and research programs. Some sort of publication record, participation in conferences as presenter or collaborator, and community service are very important. Published research over the career of the academic librarian should be listed chronologically. Letters from students, alumni, colleagues, supervisors and administrators that attest to the nominee's achievements are very important in assessing any candidate.
Awards and grants available
References
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- University of Toronto. Writing in the health sciences: a comprehensive guide, 2009.
