Rachel Ivy Clarke, Sayward Schoonmaker receive ALCTS Outstanding Publication Award

CHICAGO—Rachel Ivy Clarke and Sayward Schoonmaker are the recipients of the 2020 Association of Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) Outstanding Publication Award for their article “Metadata for diversity: Identification and implications of potential access points for diverse library resources,” published in the Journal of Documentation 76 no. 1: 173-196. 
The Outstanding Publication Award is an annual award given to honor the author or authors of the year’s outstanding monograph, article or original paper in the field of technical services, including acquisitions, cataloging, collection management, preservation, continuing resources and related areas in the library field. Clarke and Schoonmaker will receive a citation and $250 during the ALCTS Awards Ceremony on Saturday, June 27 at the 2020 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago, IL.

“Metadata for diversity: Identification and implications of potential access points for diverse library resources” addresses the timely concern of librarians looking to “diversify library collections, provide access to diverse reading materials, and conduct diversity assessments of library collections by investigating the metadata currently available to support these tasks. The authors researched 13 contemporary metadata schemas, including but not limited to those used in library cataloging, and the article includes frank discussions about the challenges of applying diversity-related metadata in ways that will enhance access to these materials. 

Formerly the cataloging librarian at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Rachel Ivy Clarke is currently an assistant professor at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies. Her research focuses on the application of design methodologies and epistemologies to facilitate the systematic, purposeful design of library services and education. Her multiple-award-winning dissertation argues that librarianship is more appropriately viewed as a design field rather than a scientific one. She holds a BA in creative writing from California State University, Long Beach, an MLIS from San Jose State University, and a PhD from the University of Washington.

Sayward Schoonmaker is a multidisciplinary artist and educator. Her work, which has been exhibited across the United States, asks questions about how words, materials and structures construct ways of seeing and being. Currently, she is the interim assistant director of the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park. She holds an MLIS from Syracuse University, an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the department of Fiber and Material Studies, and a BS in Studio Art from Skidmore College.

The Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) is the national association for information providers who work in collections and technical services, such as acquisitions, cataloging, collection development, preservation and continuing resources in digital and print formats. ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association.