LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award

The LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Award is given for the best unpublished manuscript on a topic in the area of libraries and information technology written by a student or students enrolled in an ALA-accredited library and information studies graduate program.

The purpose of this award, established July 2000, is to recognize superior student writing and to enhance the professional development of students through publication of the winning article in LITA's refereed journal, Information Technology and Libraries (ITAL).

The winner will receive $1,000 and a certificate. In the case of joint authorship, the award will be split among the authors and each will receive a certificate. The winning article will be published in a future issue of ITAL.

Deadline for the award is February 28 of each year. The winner will be notified in April.

The article can be written on any aspect of libraries and information technology,  including but are not limited to, library automation, digital libraries, metadata, identity management, distributed systems and networks, computer security, intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, information discovery tools, web-scale library services, cloud computing, digital preservation, data curation, virtualization, search-engine optimization, emerging technologies, social networking, open data, the semantic web, mobile services and applications, usability, universal access to technology, library consortia, vendor relations, and digital humanities.

Manuscripts will be selected based on the following criteria: relevance to libraries and information technology, timeliness, originality of ideas, persuasiveness of arguments, quality of writing, clarity of presentation, and contribution to the continuing education of the LITA membership. Manuscripts may be applicable to a variety of library settings, including public, academic, special libraries, school media centers, and library and information studies programs. Unselected manuscripts will be returned to the author(s).

To be eligible, applicants for the award must follow the submission guidelines and fill out an application form [pdf form]. At the time the article is submitted, the applicant(s) must be currently enrolled in an ALA-accredited program of library and information studies at the Masters or Ph.D. level.

The LITA/Ex Libris Student Writing Awards Committee is not required to select a recipient if, in the opinion of the Committee, no nomination merits the award in a given year.

Submit completed application form(s) [pdf] and the manuscript to the current committee chair, Julia Bauder at julia.bauder at gmail.com.

The award will be presented at the LITA President's Program at the ALA Annual Conference if the winner(s) is present.

From 2001 through 2006 the award was sponsored by Endeavor and was known as the LITA/Endeavor Student Writing Award. The following distinguished people have received the award to date:

  • Peter Murray, Simmons College, 2001
  • Rachel Mendez, Emporia State University, 2002
  • Joyce Friedlander, Syracuse University, 2003
  • Judy Jeng, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2004
  • Kristin Yiotis, San Jose State University, 2005
  • Yi Shen, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006
  • Timothy Dickey, Kent State University, Ohio, 2007
  • Robin Sease, University of Washington, 2008
  • T. Michael Silver, University of Alberta, 2009
  • Andromeda Yelton, Simmons College, 2010
  • Abigail McDermott, University of Maryland, 2011
  • Cynthia Cohen, San José State University, 2012
  • Karen Doerksen, University Alberta, 2013
  • Brighid Mooney Gonzales, San Jose State University, 2014
  • Heather Terrell, San Jose State University, 2015
  • Tanya Johnson, Rutgers School of Communication and Information, 2016
  • Megan Ozeran, San Jose State University, 2017
  • Colby Lewis, University of Michigan, 2018
  • Sharon Han, University of Illinois School of Information Sciences, 2019
  • Samantha Grabus, Drexel University, 2020

Visit the LITA Awards & Scholarships page for information on additional LITA awards.