Awards Committee

Current Members | Bylaws | Policies and Procedures Manual (PPM)

The Awards Committee makes recommendations to the Steering Committee for the recipients of GODORT's Awards. The Awards Committee is also responsible for establishing new awards, including obtaining ALA approval, developing criteria, and writing and/or designing the citation and/or plaque.

Overview of Awards

GODORT presents six awards annually:  three awards to recognize achievements by documents librarians, one award designed to encourage participation in professional study or publication, a scholarship for those pursuing a library science degree, and the Larry Romans Mentorship Award, presented jointly by GODORT and the ALA Rainbow Round Table (RRT).  Awards are presented at the American Library Association Annual Conference.

The deadline for nominations will be published in DttP and announced on ALA Connect and elsewhere. Nomination materials should be submitted using the nomination form.  If you have any questions, please send them to the GODORT Awards Email (godort.awards1972@gmail.com).

James Bennett Childs Award

The James Bennett Childs Award is a tribute to an individual who has made a lifetime and significant contribution to the field of documents librarianship. The Award is based on stature, service, and publication which may be in any or all areas of documents librarianship. The award winner receives a plaque with a likeness of James Bennett Childs.

Nomination form:

ProQuest/GODORT/ALA "Documents to the People" Award

The ProQuest/GODORT/ALA "Documents to the People" Award is a tribute to an individual, library, institution, or other non-commercial group that has most effectively encouraged the use of government documents in support of library service. The award includes a $3,000 cash stipend to be used to support a project of the recipient's choice. This award is sponsored by ProQuest.

Nomination form:

NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/ALA Catharine J. Reynolds Research Grant

The NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/ALA Catharine J. Reynolds Award provides funding for research in the field of documents librarianship, or in a related area that would benefit the individual's performance as a documents librarian or make a contribution to the field. This award, established in 1987, is named for Catharine J. Reynolds, former Head of Government Publications at the University of Colorado, Boulder. It is supported by an annual contribution of $2,000 from the NewsBank Inc.

Nomination form:

Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Award Founders Award

The Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award recognizes documents librarians who may not be known at the national level but who have made significant contributions to the field of state, international, local, or federal documents. This award recognizes those whose contributions have benefited not only the individual's institution but also the profession. Achievements in state, international, or local documents librarianship will receive first consideration. The award winner receives a plaque.

Nomination form:

W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship

The David Rozkuszka Scholarship provides financial assistance to an individual who is currently working with government documents in a library and is trying to complete a masters degree in library science. This award, established in 1994, is named after David Rozkuszka, former Documents Librarian at Stanford University. The award winner receives $3,000.

Online application:

Margaret T. Lane / Virginia F. Saunders Memorial Research Award

The Margaret T. Lane / Virginia F. Saunders Memorial Research Award will be given annually to an author(s) an outstanding research article in which government information, either published or archival in nature, form a substantial part of the documented research. Preference may be given to articles published in library literature and that appeals to a broader audience. The award is not restricted to articles in library journals. This award is to honor the memory of two women who worked with endless enthusiasm to make the ideal of citizen access to government information a reality. The award winner receives a contribution of $1000 from Readex Newsbank.

Nomination form:

The Larry Romans Mentorship Award

The Larry Romans Mentorship Award is given annually by the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) and the Rainbow Round Table (RRT) of the American Library Association. The purpose of the award is to recognize librarians who, through their sustained mentoring efforts, have made a difference in our profession. Each year, the award will honor a librarian who has demonstrated excellence in the area of mentoring, who has successfully encouraged others to serve as mentors, and who has impacted the lives and careers of others through tirelessly devoting time, energy, and talent toward helping others succeed in our profession. The award consists of a citation and $1,000. The award will be presented at the GODORT Awards Program at the ALA Annual Conference. In addition, recognition of the recipient will also take place at beginning of the Stonewall Book Awards Program held at the ALA Annual Conference.

Nomination form: