Description  

The OCULA Award for Special Achievement honours exceptional achievement(s) in at least one of the following areas:   

• Service to library committees, associations or organizations that demonstrates great impact, collaboration, and mentorship. 

• Research and publication in areas of academic librarianship, especially research projects that show innovation, impact, and have been disseminated widely  

• Planning and implementing a library program (e.g. innovative approaches to teaching, reference services, or community engagement) which demonstrates impact, collaboration, and longevity 

Nominees for this award may be an individual person or a group.

The OCULA Award for Special Achievement may not be awarded every year.

Criteria/Eligibility  

Nominees do not have to be members of OLA/OCULA to be eligible for this award.   

Nomination Procedure   

• Nominator must be a member in good standing of OLA. We welcome self-nominations. 

• Nominator should specify which area of Service, Research or Planning the person or group has contributed to in the application.    

• The nominator must provide sufficient documented evidence of the nominee’s contribution, including:  

• One letter of support from the nominator 

• Up to two (2) letters from the nominee’s colleagues supporting the nomination that provide specific examples of the nominee’s achievement(s).  

•  Colleagues knowledgeable about the nominee’s work should be chosen to write the letters of support. 

• The selection committee will evaluate the nomination using this Rubric  

• Nominations will be accepted between: September – November.     

Selection Process   

• Eligible applications will be assessed according to the criteria above and any supporting documentation.   

• The OCULA Awards Committee may request additional information from the nominee before finalizing its decision.   

• The OCULA Awards Committee will present all qualified candidates to the OCULA Council and their recommendation for the award winner. The Council will consider all potential candidates, including those nominated from the membership.  Council will vote to approve or reject the Awards Committee recommendation.  

• The presentation of the award is at the discretion of OCULA Council and is not necessarily presented on an annual basis.  

• Once the winner(s) have been chosen, the OCULA Past President will contact the successful nominator.  The OLA office will contact all unsuccessful nominators.    

Award Presentation Information   

• This award is presented at the OLA annual Super Conference.  

• The winner will be notified in advance of the award presentation.   

• The recipient will prepare a short acceptance speech.   

• Guests of award recipients are welcome to attend the award presentation, however, they must be registered conference attendees or registered guests.