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Larry Alford Wins Hugh Atkinson Memorial Award 2018

Larry Alford
Larry Alford, image © University of Toronto

Larry P. Alford, chief librarian at the University of Toronto, has been named the 2018 winner of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award. The American Library Association (ALA) will present the award to Alford at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, this summer. 

Named in honor of one of the pioneers of library automation, the Hugh C. Atkinson Award recognizes an academic librarian who has made significant contributions in the area of library automation or management and has made notable improvements in library services or research. Theresa S. Byrd, chair of the Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award Committee and dean of the Copley Library at the University of San Diego, said, “Larry, an innovator and visionary, epitomizes what Hugh C. Atkinson represented to our profession.”

The Atkinson Award is jointly sponsored by four divisions of ALA: the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS), the Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA), and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA). The award is funded from an endowment established to honor Hugh C. Atkinson.

Alford served as president of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) 2015–2016 and was an ARL Board member 2012–2017, in addition to serving on numerous ARL committees, task forces, and working groups since 2005.

For more details about Alford’s career and the Atkinson Award, see the March 1, 2018, ALA news release, “Larry P. Alford Wins 2018 Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award.”

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