Partridge Award Nominations

James Partridge Outstanding African American Information Professional Award

Nominations are open for the 2019 James Partridge Outstanding African American Information Professional Award. Since 1998, the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park and the Citizens for Maryland Libraries (CML) have presented the award to exemplary but unsung library leaders. The award recognizes the legacy of James Partridge, an outstanding librarian who led the Maryland Division of Libraries Services. A nominee must, like James Partridge, reflect the highest ideals of the library/information profession including career-long dedicated service, leadership, and a commitment to the empowerment of those whom they serve. Please consider nominating a colleague, collaborator, mentor, or yourself.

Past James Partridge Award recipients include:
2018 Loretta Parham, CEO, Atlanta University Center Robert J. Woodruff Library
2017 Ruby Jaby, Branch Manager of the Crofton Community Library, Anne Arundel County Public Libraries

Letters should be emailed to Dr. Renee Hill and Dr. Ana Ndumu at cidlis.umd@gmail.com with “Partridge Award Nomination” as the subject line. Nominations will be accepted until Tuesday, October 1, 2019, at 11:59 pm.

Award Ceremony
The James Partridge Award will be presented on November 1, 2019 during CIDLIS.

Eligibility
To be eligible, a nominee must:

  1. Be a graduate of an ALA-accredited Library and Information Science (LIS) program
  2. Be employed at a library, archive, government agency, research center, LIS professional organization, or another type of information center at the time of the nomination
  3. Have demonstrated sustained, high-quality service in support of the LIS field’s mission of providing access to information for all

Nomination Process
Please also be certain to gain consent from the nominee. Nomination letters should include the following information:

  1. Nominee’s name, place of employment, and length of service to the library and information professions
  2. Documented evidence of the nominee’s contributions to his/her place of employment and the library and information profession. Please include as much detail as possible.

Selection Criteria
The James Partridge Awards Committee, appointed by the College of Information Studies and CML, will select the winner of the award based on the following criteria that reflects the life and ideals of James Partridge:

  1. The award recipient will exemplify the highest ideals of the library and information professions.
  2. The award recipient will have demonstrated true advocacy for the right of all people to access and understand information.
  3. Preference is granted to those deserving of accolades but who have not have been widely recognized for contributions to the library and information professions.

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Learn more about the award and perspectives of the recipients in the publication, Celebrating the James Partridge Award: Essays Toward the Development of a More Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Field of Library and Information Science, edited by Diane L. Barlow, and Paul T. Jaeger, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2016.