The ACRL/NY Outstanding Professional Development Award

This award recognizes librarians whose exceptional contributions have advanced professional development in academic and research libraries. The award honors sustained or distinguished service, as well as exemplary projects, initiatives, research, scholarship, creative works, and other efforts that have meaningfully and measurably contributed to the growth of library workforce, library users, and the profession.

Submit your nomination here: https://acrlny.org/event-6860240 

Award

The award recipient will receive a certificate and a $500 award, presented at the Annual Symposium, as well as recognition on the ACRL/NY website through a video feature. The award is administered by the Awards Advisory Board of the ACRL/NY Professional Development Committee.

Eligibility

Librarians who currently work, or have worked within the past year, in an academic or research library in the Greater New York Metropolitan area are eligible.

The Greater New York Metropolitan for the ACRL/NY area includes:

• New York City’s five boroughs
• Nassau and Suffolk Counties
• Westchester County
• Counties in the Lower Hudson Valley

Nominees must be members of ACRL/NY by the nomination deadline. Self-nominations are welcome.

Criteria

Nominees must meet at least two of the following criteria:

• Creative or innovative professional development activities with measurable impact on academic library users, library workforce and/or the profession.
• Active participation in projects or initiatives that expand professional development opportunities and demonstrate measurable impact.
• Evidence of service or collaboration in professional development activities that benefit the academic library workforce, profession, and/or users.
• Exemplary and influential creative work, research, scholarship, or other efforts that advance excellence in academic and research libraries and benefit users, the workforce, and/or the profession.

Submissions

Nominations must be submitted electronically via our submission form by Nov 1, 2026.

Self-nominations are welcome.

Each nomination must include:

• A clear description of the nominee’s contributions to professional development, limited to two pages.
• The nominee’s current curriculum vitae (CV).
• One letter of support from a library professional familiar with the nominee’s work.

Submissions will be reviewed using the rubric below.