The ALA Medal of Excellence is an annual award bestowed by the American Library Association for recent creative leadership of high order, particularly in the fields of library management, library training, cataloging and classification, and the tools and techniques of librarianship. [1] It was first awarded in 1953 to Ralph R. Shaw, Director of the National Agriculture Library.
The award name was changed in 2020 from the Melvil Dewey Medal to the ALA Medal of Excellence. [2]
| ALA Medal of Excellence (formerly Melvil Dewey Medal) | Date | Major Accomplishments |
|---|---|---|
| Loida Garcia-Febo [3] | 2024 | President, American Library Association, President, REFORMA, International librarianship consultant. |
| Kelvin Watson [4] | 2023 | “Achievement for recent creative leadership of high order" as Executive Director, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District |
| Judith Cannan [5] | 2022 | Library of Congress-Chief, Policy, Training and Cooperative Programs Division for "Spearheading: the transition from AACR2 to Resource Description and Access, move of original RDA to new Tool Kit, from MARC to linked data, -- the most monumental achievements in cataloging in recent decades.” |
| No Award | 2021 | |
| No Award | 2020 | |
| Award Name Changed | 2020 | The American Library Association Council voted at the 2019 Annual Conference to remove the name of American Library Association cofounder Melvil Dewey [6] from the Melvil Dewey Medal citing his well-documented history of racism, anti- Semitism. and sexual harassment. [7] |
| June Garcia [8] | 2019 | Developed international Network of Emerging Library Innovators of Gates’ Foundation's Global Libraries, Director San Antonio Public Library |
| Carla J. Stoffle [9] | 2018 | Dean of Libraries and Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, Joseph W. Lippincott Award. |
| Carla Hayden [10] | 2017 | Librarian of Congress |
| Robert R. Newlen [11] | 2016 | Chief of staff at the Library of Congress |
| Hwa-Wei Lee [12] [13] | 2015 | Ohio University Libraries, Hwa-Wei Lee Center for International Collections |
| Robert A. Wolven [14] | 2014 | Digital Content and Libraries Working Group, Library of Congress’ Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, HathiTrust |
| Beacher J.E. Wiggins | 2013 | Historic merger of acquisitions and cataloging functions Library of Congress; U.S. National Libraries RDA Test Coordinating Committee; New Bibliographic Framework Initiative Library of Congress Bicentennial Conference on Bibliographic Control for the New Millennium. [15] |
| Beverly P. Lynch [16] | 2012 | Training dozens library leaders as director of the UCLA Senior Fellows program; founding director of the California Rare Book School, chair of ALA's International Relations Committee, founder of the US-China Librarians’ conference series. |
| Deanna B. Marcum [17] | 2011 | Creation of Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control at Library of Congress, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources [18] |
| Brian E.C. Schottlaender | 2010 | President, Association of Research Libraries [19] |
| James G. Neal | 2009 | Advisor to U.S. delegation at the World Intellectual Property Organization U.S. Copyright Office 108 Study Group. |
| Sandra Nelson [20] | 2008 | Public Library Association Results series, public library development. [21] |
| Sarah Thomas [22] | 2007 | Bodley's Librarian and Director of the Bodleian Libraries. |
| John D. Byrum [23] | 2006 | Library of Congress, Chief Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division, Program for Cooperative Cataloging. |
| Joan S. Mitchell | 2005 | Editor of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system. [24] |
| Sally H. McCallum [25] | 2004 | Chief of Network Development and MARC Standards Office Library of Congress. |
| David A. Smith [26] | 2003 | Chief of the decimal classification division at the Library of Congress. |
| James F. Williams II [27] | 2002 | Founding member and creator of SPARC the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition. |
| Herman L. Totten [28] | 2001 | Regents professor and associate dean for the school of library and information sciences at the University of North Texas. [29] |
| Paul Sybrowsky [30] | 2000 | Cofounder of Dynix, founder of Snowbird Institute, Ameritech Library Services, President of the board of trustees for the Provo City Library. |
| Helen Moeller | 1999 | Director of the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library, FL. [31] |
| Winston Tabb [32] | 1998 | Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) at the Library of Congress |
| Robert Wedgeworth [33] | 1997 | Executive Director, American Library Association, Dean of the School of Library Service at Columbia University Director at the University of Illinois Library—working toward the improvement of library services through adoption of the information technology of the day. |
| No Awards | 1996-1997 | |
| Frank Phillips Grisham [34] | 1994 | Executive director of SOLINET, Director, Vanderbilt University Library |
| No Award | 1993 | |
| Michael Gorman | 1992 | Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules; Our Enduring Values: Librarianship in the 21st Century. [35] |
| Lucia J. Rather [36] | 1991 | Director for Cataloging at Library of Congress, developed the character set of diacritical marks and special characters used with the MARC format. [37] |
| Helen Schmierer“ [38] | 1990 | Greatest contribution to protocols of AACR2. Major contributor to Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR, systems/planning analyst, Brown University Library. |
| Robert R. McClarren [39] | 1989 | “Toward Cooperative Collection Development in the Illinois Library and Information Network.” [40] Robert R. McClarren Legislative Development Award. |
| Herbert Goldhor [41] | 1988 | An Introduction to Scientific Research in Librarianship, [42] Research Methods in Librarianship: Measurement and Evaluation. [43] [44] |
| Herbert S. White [45] | 1987 | Managing the Special Library: Strategies for Success Within the Larger Organization., [46] Executive Director of NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility. |
| Richard De Gennaro [47] | 1986 | "Library automation & networking: perspectives on three decades." [48] Research Libraries Enter the Information Age. [49] |
| Joseph H. Howard | 1985 | Chief, Library of Congress Descriptive cataloging division [50] |
| Warren J. Haas [51] | 1984 | President Council on Library Resources [52] |
| Edward G. Holley | 1983 | Dean UNC School of Information and Library Science, [53] |
| Sarah K. Vann [54] | 1982 | Field survey of Dewey Decimal Classification System Use Abroad. [55] |
| Henriette Avram | 1981 | Developed MARC format (Machine Readable Cataloging), Associate Librarian for Collections Services, Library of Congress. [56] |
| Robert D. Stueart [57] | 1980 | Information Needs of the 80s: Libraries and Information Services Role in “Bringing Information to People [58] |
| Russell Bidlack [59] | 1979 | Historical Background of the A.L.A. Catalog. [60] |
| Frederick G. Kilgour | 1978 | President of OCLC [61] |
| Seymour Lubetzky | 1977 | Cataloging theorist ranked among the greatest minds in library science. [62] |
| Louis Round Wilson [63] | 1976 | Dean, University of Chicago Graduate Library School |
| No Award | 1975 | |
| Robert B. Downs [64] | 1974 | "creative professional achievement of a high order" [65] |
| Virginia Lacy Jones [66] | 1973 | "for creative professional achievements of high order." Dean, Atlanta University School of Library Sciences, [67] |
| Jerrold Orne [68] | 1972 | Chaired Z39 Committee, precursor to National Information Standards Organization |
| William J. Welsh [69] | 1971 | Deputy Librarian of Congress, major role in renovation Jefferson Building, development of deacidification process, pilot project optical disk technology. [70] |
| Joseph H. Treyz [71] | 1970 | Books for College Libraries [72] |
| William S. Dix [73] | 1969 | Primary author of The Freedom to Read statement. [74] |
| Jesse H. Shera [75] | 1968 | "Professional creative achievement." [76] |
| Walter Herbert Kaiser [77] | 1967 | "Statistical Trends of Large Public Libraries." [78] |
| Lucile M. Morsch | 1966 | Deputy Chief Assistant Librarian of Congress, Rules for Descriptive Cataloging in the Library of Congress |
| Bertha Margaret Frick [79] | 1965 | Editor, Sears' List of Subject Headings for H.W. Wilson, member Dewey Decimal Editorial Policy Committee, professor Columbia University. |
| John W. Cronin [80] | 1964 | Director, processing department Library of Congress, also chief of the Card Division. Supervised editing of original 167-volume Catalog of Books Represented by Library of Congress Printed Cards. |
| Frank Bradway Rogers [81] | 1963 | Director of the National Library of Medicine, Laid foundation for MEDLARS, Director of the Armed Forces Medical Library. [82] |
| Leon Carnovsky [83] | 1962 | "For long standing achievement as editor, author, teacher and consultant in bibliographical matters." [84] |
| Julia C. Pressey [85] | 1961 | Head, Office for D.C. numbers. Library of Congress |
| Harriet E. Howe [86] | 1960 | “The Library School Curriculum.” [87] |
| Benjamin A. Custer [88] | 1959 | Editor, Dewey Decimal Classification, Chief of the Decimal Classification Division, Library of Congress. [89] |
| Janet S. Dickson | 1958 | Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Decimal Classification [90] |
| Wyllis E. Wright [91] | 1957 | "A librarian's librarian," Wright was President, Association of College and Research Libraries.Chairman, Joint Committee on the Union List of Serials, the DCC Board on Cataloging Policy and Research, the Catalog Code Revision Committees; and editor of Catalogers' and Classifier's Yearbook, and American Library Annual. [92] "Invaluable contributions to the evolution of the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules. [93] Librarian at Williams College. |
| Norah Albanell MacColl | 1956 | Sistema De Clasificación Decimal Dewey : Tablas E Índice Alfabético Auxiliar [94] |
| Maurice Tauber [95] | 1955 | Developer of technical services units and how they evolved in the 20th century. Professor at Columbia University. |
| Herman H. Fussler [96] | 1954 | Director, University of Chicago libraries, Dean, University of Chicago Graduate Library School, helped create the Center for Research Libraries.U.S. National Advisory Commission on Libraries. [97] |
| Ralph R. Shaw | 1953 | Director, U.S. National Agricultural Library, Dean, Rutgers University Department of Library and Information Science, Founder, Scarecrow Press [98] |
Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey was an influential American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, a founder of the Lake Placid Club, and a chief librarian at Columbia University. He was also a founding member of the American Library Association. Although Dewey's contributions to the modern library are widely recognized, his legacy is marred by allegations of sexual harassment, racism, and antisemitism.
Seymour Lubetzky was a major cataloging theorist and a prominent librarian.
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world.
Jesse Hauk Shera was an American librarian and information scientist who pioneered the use of information technology in libraries and played a role in the expansion of its use in other areas throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
Richard Rogers "R. R." Bowker was a journalist, editor of Publishers Weekly and Harper's Magazine, and founder of the R. R. Bowker Company.
Margaret Hayes Grazier was an American librarian, educator, and published author in the field of Library and Information science, who specialized in school librarianship. She worked as a school librarian at various high schools and, later in her career, as a professor of library science at Wayne State University. Grazier had developed a model to guide library media specialists to become fully immersed in the entire cycle of the student's learning process, everything from storytelling to planning and evaluating curriculum. She was active in several important library organizations, including the American Library Association, and received awards for her contributions to her field of study.
Herbert Spencer White is an Austrian-born American librarian. He is Dean Emeritus and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the School of Library & Information Science at Indiana University, and Adjunct Professor, University of Arizona, Tucson. A recipient of the ALA Medal of Excellence Award, White is the primary author of at least nine books, and the author of an estimated 200 articles in the professional literature of Library Science. He is a major contributor to current theory and understanding of the role of the special library in contemporary American organizations.
Louis Round Wilson was an important figure to the field of library science, and is listed in "100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century," an article in the December 1999 issue of American Libraries. The article lists what he did for the field of library science including dean at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School, directing the library at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and as one of the “internationally oriented library leaders in the U.S. who contributed much of the early history of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.” The Louis Round Wilson Library is named after him.
The University of Chicago Graduate Library School (GLS) was established in 1928 to develop a program for the graduate education of librarians with a focus on research. Housed for a time in the Joseph Regenstein Library, the GLS closed in 1989 when the University decided to promote information studies instead of professional education. GLS faculty were among the most prominent researchers in librarianship in the twentieth century. Alumni of the school have made a great impact on the profession including Hugh Atkinson, Susan Grey Akers, Bernard Berelson, Michèle Cloonan, El Sayed Mahmoud El Sheniti, Eliza Atkins Gleason, Frances E. Henne, Virginia Lacy Jones, William Katz Judith Krug, Lowell Martin, Miriam Matthews, Kathleen de la Peña McCook, Errett Weir McDiarmid, Elizabeth Homer Morton, Benjamin E. Powell, W. Boyd Rayward, Charlemae Hill Rollins, Katherine Schipper, Ralph R. Shaw, Spencer Shaw, Frances Lander Spain, Peggy Sullivan, Maurice Tauber and Tsuen-hsuin Tsien.
Mary Wright Plummer was an American librarian who became the second female president of the American Library Association (1915–1916).
Lucile M. Morsch was an American librarian who served as president of the American Library Association from 1957 to 1958. Morsch also worked as the Deputy Chief Assistant Librarian of Congress from 1953 to 1962.
The University of Chicago Extension Division Library School was one of the pioneering training programs for librarians in the United States. The library school was a section within the Extension Division's Class-Study Department. It closed in 1903 after receiving controversial criticisms from the American Library Association.
Allyson Carlyle was a United States of America library and information science scholar, considered a leading scholar in the field of cataloging.
The Award of Merit is bestowed by the Association for Information Science and Technology. It is an annual prize to an individual for a lifetime of achievement that recognizes sustained contributions to and/or achievements in the field of information science and/or the professions in which it is practiced. The Award of Merit was first given in 1964 to Hans Peter Luhn.
The Joseph W. Lippincott Award was established in 1938 by the American Library Association.
Honorary Membership conferred by the American Library Association is the Association's highest award. "Honorary membership may be conferred on a living citizen of any country whose contribution to librarianship or a closely related field is so outstanding that it is of lasting importance to the advancement of the whole field of library service. It is intended to reflect honor upon the ALA as well as upon the individual." The Honorary Membership award was established in 1879.
The American Library Association Equality Award has been given annually by the American Library Association since 1984 in recognition of achievement for outstanding contribution toward promoting equality in the library profession, either by a sustained contribution or a single outstanding accomplishment. The award may be given for an activist or scholarly contribution in such areas as pay equity, affirmative action, legislative work and non-sexist education. The inaugural award was bestowed on Margaret Myers, Director, Office of Library Personnel Resources of the American Library Association in 1984.