ALA Beta Phi Mu Award
How to Apply
The annual award, consisting of $1,000 and a Citation of Achievement, is presented at the ALA Conference in Anaheim, CA in June. The deadline for submission of applications for the 2009 Beta Phi Mu Award is February 1. Guidelines and application forms are available on the ALA web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/awardsgrants/awardsrecords/betaphimuaward/betaphimuaward.cfm.
2008 Recipient
CHICAGO – Dr. Ching-chih Chen, professor of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College, has been selected as the recipient of the American Library Association’s 2008 Beta Phi Mu Award. This annual award, donated by Beta Phi Mu International Library & Information Studies Society, is presented to a library school faculty member or to an individual for distinguished service to education in librarianship.
“In selecting Dr. Chen for this award, the Jury commended her for her excellence as a devoted teacher and mentor; her outstanding and far-reaching service to education for librarianship worldwide; her amazing publishing, presenting and grants record; her vision and innovation in developing Global Memory Net as part of her ongoing commitment to global partnerships to advance knowledge and share information; and her using her professional skills to cross from the library world into scientific, governmental and cultural arenas all over the planet,” said Eric W. Johnson, Library Director at Southeastern Louisiana University, Sims Memorial Library. “The Jury was unanimous in its praise of the breadth and scope of her activities, her support for and guidance of her students in helping them to achieve their professional and intellectual goals and her profound impact on the field of global librarianship.”
2007 Recipient
CHICAGO – Barbara Immroth, professor, School of Information, University of Texas – Austin, has been selected as the 2007 winner of the American Library Association (ALA) / Beta Phi Mu Award, joining a roster of distinguished educators who have received this honor over the past four decades.
This annual award, consisting of $1,000 and a 24k gold-framed citation of achievement, is given to a library school faculty member or to an individual for distinguished service to education for librarianship, and is sponsored by the Beta Phi Mu International Library Science Honorary Society.
Immroth was recognized for her extensive and lasting impact on education for youth services librarians in school and public libraries. She has devoted her long and impressive career to fostering scholarship among library youth services professionals, raising funds for their education and mentoring future educators to teach in this area. Through highly acclaimed dedication to the advancement of library service to young people, she has made a major contribution to society as well as to her profession. Her leadership, energy, and counseling, coupled with both an intellectual and practical approach to her activities, has enabled her to help shape the careers of many librarians.
Among her many professional activities, Barbara Immroth is a past-president of Beta Phi Mu and of the Association for Library Service to Children, a trustee of the American Library Association Freedom to Read Foundation, a president of the Texas Library Association, an ALA Councilor, and a member of many international, national, and regional library committees. Her publication record is extensive and exemplary.
