Alumni Padilla, McNabb win awards for historical and genealogical research and achievements

The History Section of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has selected two GSLIS alumni as the winners of its achievement awards honoring librarians and their contributions to the fields of genealogical and historical research and services.

The Gale Cengage History Research and Innovation Award winner is Thomas G. Padilla (MS '14), digital scholarship librarian at Michigan State University Libraries. Digital humanities research is often based on the effort of multiple people coming from a range of professional and disciplinary contexts. Padilla writes, “Individual libraries have histories of their own involvement in the digital humanities, but no effort has been made to capture these histories across the community, unite them into a common context, and begin to tell the story of how, why, and for how long librarians have been contributing to the digital humanities.” Through oral histories, Padilla will create a better understanding of the past, present, and future roles of librarians in the digital humanities. Sponsored by Gale Cengage, the award offers a citation and $2,500 to facilitate and further research relating to history and history librarianship.   

The Genealogy/History Achievement Award winner is Michele C. McNabb (MS '91), library manager of the Genealogy Center at the Museum of Danish America, for her exemplary service, support, leadership, and contributions to the field of genealogical and local history librarianship. Initiatives she’s undertaken include the establishment of the Digital Library of Danish American Newspapers and Journals, which consists of four newspapers and a collection of scrapbooks that were digitized using Res Carta and are easily searched for free from the center’s website. Sponsored by ProQuest, this award presents a citation and $1,500 to a librarian to recognize professional achievement in genealogical and historical reference and research.

Padilla and McNabb will be recognized at the RUSA Achievement Awards Ceremony and Reception during the American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.

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