The American Library Association (ALA) has announced Sidney E. Berger (MS ’87) as winner of the 2015 ABC-CLIO Award for the Best Book in Library Literature for Rare Books and Special Collections, published by Neal-Schuman Publishers. This award recognizes books that assist library professionals or information specialists in areas of management, technique, and education.
In addition to his GSLIS degree, Berger holds an MA in English and PhD in Medieval English literature and bibliography, both from the University of Iowa. He was the Ann C. Pingree director of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, until October 2014. He continues to work with the museum as director emeritus.
Rare Books and Special Collections provides a broad, yet comprehensive examination of the foundations and practices that are integral to rare books and special collections librarianship. The book was selected as the award winner for its in-depth overview style that effectively captures and discusses the key elements of rare books and special collections principles and management in one volume. A result of years of acquired knowledge and experience, Berger’s work supplies a body of knowledge that covers diverse yet fundamental areas, including explorations of key attributes and elements of physical collections, management philosophy, and legal issues. Berger’s detailed yet accessible prose, accompanied by thorough research and extensive notes as well as the strategic use of illustrations, makes this book an invaluable work for rare books and special collections librarians, as well as those that manage institutions that maintain such collections.
Berger is an adjunct professor at the GSLIS and also teaches at the Simmons College School of Library and Information Science and College of Arts and Sciences.
Members of the 2014 ABC-CLIO Award jury include: William Schultz, Jr., chair, Eastern Illinois University; June L. DeWeese, University of Missouri-Columbia; Megan A. Egbert, Meridian Library District (Idaho); Paul C. Heyde, Case Western Reserve University; Ben A. Hunter, University of Idaho.
The 2015 ABC-CLIO Award will be presented in June at the ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. Learn more about the ABC-CLIO Award for the Best Book in Library Literature including how to apply on the ALA website.