While many college libraries are using iTunes to connect with students, faculty and others in their undergraduate communities, what Bruce Connolly and Gail Golderman have done “shouts out innovation and creativity,” says the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).
Connolly, Schaffer Library head of public services, and Gail Golderman, digital services librarian, have received the association’s College Libraries Section (CLS) ProQuest Innovation in College Librarianship Award for 2009, a new annual award.
The two will share the $3,000 award, to be presented at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago this summer.
Their “innovative sharing of audio files through iTunes in a variety of contexts that support students, faculty and the library” was noted by award committee chair Stacy Voeller, associate professor and electronic resources librarian at Minnesota State University – Moorhead.
“While they have encountered obstacles during both the development and implementation of their program, Connolly and Golderman have overcome those obstacles creatively,” Voeller said. “Their efforts demonstrate ongoing innovation using a popular and student-centric technology.”
The award selection committee commended Schaffer Library’s ongoing exploration of the potential applications of iTunes and other software applications as a marketing tool for the library’s collections; a teaching tool in courses across the curriculum; and a venue for supporting multiculturalism and diversity on campus.
It also lauded the library “for stimulating ideas among library staff on weaving technology into a variety of library and curricular initiatives.”
Connolly and Golderman are graduates of the University at Albany School of Library and Information Science.
Connolly has made presentations on music file sharing in academic libraries at the ACRL/NY and Internet Librarian conferences. He also has written on various aspects of Apple's iTunes software for Serials Librarian, Computers in Libraries and netConnect, where he writes the quarterly eReviews column with Golderman.
Golderman, who has presented at numerous conferences, also contributes to Journal of Internet Cataloging, Reference Librarian and Magazines for Libraries. She is actively interested in online social networking, integrating technology with the learning process and collaborative endeavors between teaching faculty, IT staff and librarians.
The ACRL, representing nearly 13,000 academic and research librarians and other individuals, is dedicated to helping the higher education community understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments.
Read More
