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NEWS
For Immediate Release
March 18, 2009

Radford wins 2010 Mudge Award for contribution to reference librarianship

CHICAGO—Marie L. Radford, associate professor at the School of Communication and Information, Department of Library and Information Science at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, has been selected  the 2010 winner of the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA) Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award.

The award, which is administered by RUSA and generously supported by Gale Cengage Learning, recognizes distinguished contributions to reference librarianship. In selecting Radford for this honor, the committee cited her many accomplishments, including authorship of four books, among them “Conducting the Reference Interview (2nd ed.),”  “The Reference Encounter: Interpersonal Communication in the Academic Library” and “Web Research: Selecting, Evaluating, and Citing”; editorship of three other books, including “Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends”and “Academic Library Research”;numerous articles published in top library journals; and dozens of conference papers and presentations. 

In addition to her publications, Radford brings high energy, deep passion and an interdisciplinary approach to the study of face-to-face and virtual reference.  She has provided inspirational leadership in professional organizations such as RUSA, ALA, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). Radford is currently co-chair of the conference program for the Reference Renaissance 2010  and co-chair of contributed papers for ACRL’s 2011 National Conference. She will be the keynote speaker for the upcoming 2010 REFolution Conference.

“Marie has made a broad and deep contribution to the research on and the practice of reference librarianship in the new electronic information environment,” said Robert Kieft, award committee chair. “Her work connects research with practice that is applicable in many information environments; her ongoing studies of electronic reference and more recently on ‘screenagers’ have established a body of knowledge that puts her in the vanguard of influential members of the profession. More than her work, though, is Marie’s radiating energy and enthusiasm for reference librarianship. To everyone who knows her, Marie is a capital-P “Presence.” She is a warm and generous colleague, a challenging and supportive teacher and an optimist about the future of reference service—a capital-P “Presence” who, to quote her nominator, ‘always brings out the best in people.’ There can be no better recommendation than that for anyone who teaches or practices reference service in any mode or in any ve
nue.” 

Radford earned her M.S.L.S from Syracuse University and her Ph.D. in Communication, Information and Library Studies from Rutgers. She has taught at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information since 2004. Prior to her stay at Rutgers, she was an associate professor at the Pratt Institute’s School of Information and Library Science (1996-2004) and served as acting dean of the school (2002-2004). She was also a department head at The William Paterson University of New Jersey’s Cheng Library and held positions throughout her early career as a reference librarian and school librarian.

Radford will receive her award—a citation and $5,000 cash prize—at the RUSA Awards Ceremony and Reception, scheduled for 4-5:30 p.m., Monday, June 28, as a part of ALA’s Annual Conference events. The exact location of this event will be announced on the RUSA website and at the RUSA Blog in late spring. A complete listing of RUSA events at this summer’s Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., June 24-29, can be found at the RUSA website.

The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need.  For more information, visit www.ala.org/rusa. Not a RUSA member, but  interested in discounted registration rates on conference, RUSA preconferences and other RUSA events? Join, renew or add RUSA to your ALA membership at www.ala.org/membership.