ALA Beta Phi Mu Award
How to Apply
The annual award, consists of $1,000 and a Citation of Achievement. The deadline for submission of applications for the 2010 Beta Phi Mu Award is December 1, 2009. Guidelines and application forms are available on the ALA web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/awardsgrants/awardsrecords/betaphimuaward/betaphimuaward.cfm.
2009 Recipient
Dr. C. James Schmidt, professor in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University, has been selected as the recipient of the American Library Association’s 2009 Beta Phi Mu Award. This annual award, donated by the Beta Phi Mu International Library Science Honorary Society, is presented to a library school faculty member or to an individual for distinguished service to education in librarianship.
"In selecting Dr. Schmidt for this award, the Jury commended him for his long and distinguished career as an educator and mentor; his excellence in the classroom in blending the talents of an outstanding practitioner with the skills of a fine teacher; his support of colleagues through collaboration on research; his leadership in promoting intellectual freedom both in and outside of the classroom; his active role in professional organizations; his commitment to scholarship, the university community, the academic library world and the American Library Association; and his advancement of knowledge and promotion of the free exchange of ideas, said jury chair Eric Johnson."
Dr. Schmidt received a bachelor’s from Catholic University, an M.S.L.S. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Florida State University. He also did graduate work in Political Science at the University of Texas and Ohio State University. He has held positions at the Flint (Mich.) Public Library, General Motors Institute, Southwest Texas State University, Ohio State University and Research Libraries Group; served as director of libraries at the State University of New York at Albany and university librarian at Brown University; and performed as university librarian and acting chief information officer at San Jose State before moving to the School of Library and Information Science. He is also the owner and principal consultant for Schmidt and Associates.
In addition to being selected as a visiting scholar at the University of Nebraska Library and the University Center of Georgia, Dr. Schmidt was the Yuri Nakata lecturer at the University of Illinois/Chicago. His efforts on the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee were recognized in 1991 when he was awarded the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award from the University of Illinois. In 2001 he received the Norwin S. Yoffie Career Achievement Award from the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. A member of innumerable committees, task forces, boards, commissions and panels at local, state, regional and national levels, Dr. Schmidt is the author of a host of articles and book chapters and has lectured and presented throughout the United States and in China.
The 2009 Beta Phi Mu Award was presented at the ALA Award Ceremony and Reception Tuesday, July 14, during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.
Members of the 2009 Beta Phi Mu Award jury are Eric W. Johnson, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, La.; Carl A. Antonucci, Capital Community College, Hartford, Conn.; Kathy C. Leeds, Wilton Library, Wilton, Conn.; Charlotte C. Xanders, California State University – Sacramento; and Li Zhang, Mississippi State University, Mitchell Memorial Library, Mississippi State, Miss.
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.
