[Preservenw] Betsy Wilson named ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year

[Gary Menges]

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For Immediate Release

February 2, 2007

Betsy Wilson named ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year


CHICAGO - Lizabeth (Betsy) A. Wilson, Dean of University Libraries at
the University of Washington, is the 2007 Association of College and
Research Libraries' (ACRL) Academic/Research Librarian of the Year.  The
award, sponsored by YBP Library Services, recognizes an outstanding
member of the library profession who has made a significant national or
international contribution to academic/research librarianship and
library development.

Wilson will receive a $5,000 award on Thursday, March 29, 2007, 4 - 5:45
p.m., at the opening keynote during the ACRL 13th National Conference in
Baltimore, Md.

"Betsy has been recognized as a pioneer and leader throughout her
career, particularly in the areas of information literacy, assessment
and collaboration," said award committee chair Mark Winston, associate
professor, School of Information and Library Science, at the University
of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  "Under her leadership, the University of
Washington Libraries received the 2004 ACRL Excellence in Academic
Libraries Award.  In this regard, one nominator wrote, 'Betsy envisioned
and built a model assessment program, created strong collaboration with
faculty in the classroom on information literacy and alliances with IT
to produce the UWired service, and provided leadership and inspiration
for the development of other outstanding and nationally known
programs.'"

"I was thrilled-no, make that flabbergasted-when ACRL President Pam
Snelson told me about the award," said Wilson.  "I can think of no
greater honor than to first be nominated by wonderful colleagues and
then recognized by ACRL, an organization that has meant so much to me
throughout my career.  To join the list of esteemed past awardees is
indeed humbling."

Wilson has a distinguished record of service to the profession. She
served as ACRL president in 2000-2001, helped establish the ACRL
Institute for Information Literacy, and chaired the ACRL Instruction
Section. She also served as a Member-at-Large on the ALA Council from
1991-1995.  Wilson currently chairs the ACRL 14th National Conference
Committee, which is planning the next conference to be held March 12-15,
2009, in Seattle, Washington.    She recently finished a term on the
Association of Research Libraries Board and currently serves on the
Digital Library Federation Executive Committee.

Wilson's numerous articles, presentations, and workshops represent a
significant contribution to the profession.   Many, however, believe her
mentorship of emerging leaders represents her greatest educational
legacy.

Nominators also recognized Wilson's commitment to collaboration and
partnership, noting, "She was instrumental in the merger of Orbis and
Cascade, two groups that operated separately in Oregon and Washington to
create the regional consortium of the Orbis Cascade Alliance in 2003.
In 2005, she formed the Digital Futures Alliance with partners in
Microsoft, Vulcan, Real Networks, and others to address the commonly
held problem of long-term preserving digital assets held in library
collections and industry archives."

Wilson's leadership in the historic merger of RLG and OCLC was also
praised, "In her role as chair of the Board of Trustees of OCLC, having
previously served as president of the OCLC Members Council, she had an
active and pivotal role in what has been termed 'the hallmark of Betsy's
work-creating strong and vital organizations that derive more benefit
for all.'  The vision, diplomacy and pragmatism of Betsy Wilson were
absolutely critical to the year-long negotiations that resulted in the
coming together of the two organizations."

Wilson received her B.A with high honors in Art History and German from
Northwestern University in 1977.  She earned her M.S. with honors in
Library Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in
1978.

Previous award winners include Ray English (2006); Ravindra Nath (R. N.)
Sharma (2005); Tom Kirk (2004); Ross Atkinson, (2003); Shelley Phipps,
(2002); and Larry Hardesty (2001).

For more information regarding the ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of
the Year award, or a complete list of past recipients please visit
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlawards/acrllibrarian.htm
<http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlawards/acrllibrarian.htm> .

ACRL is a division of the American Library Association, representing
13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL
is the only individual membership organization in North America that
develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of
academic and research librarians.  Its initiatives enable the higher
education community to understand the role that academic libraries play
in the teaching, learning and research environments.