Richard Kearney, Electronic Resources Librarian of the David and Lorraine Cheng Library of William Patterson University is the recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Service Award, granted by the New Jersey Library Association’s College and University Section/ Association of College and Research Libraries New Jersey chapter. This honor is awarded annually to an individual who, by his or her outstanding contributions, has directly enriched the profession of librarianship in New Jersey.   

 

This award honors Richard’s leadership on behalf of libraries, librarians and the library profession in New Jersey. His main contributions have been in his area of professional specialization. He has been a member of the VALE Electronic Resources Committee since 2005, with most years including the current year as Chair. He has also served as one of the academic library representatives to the New Jersey Statewide Database Advisory Committee since 2013. Richard thoughtfully and thoroughly vets new databases and negotiates with various database providers and his database negotiations benefits NJ academic libraries. Richard is an ambassador for the open access movement and is seen as a statewide leader and advocate for educational and libraries issues.

 

In addition, Richard served as Vice-President/President/Past-President (2007-2010) of the NJLA College and University Section and co-chaired the Vale User's Conference for fifteen years. We are truly honored to give Richard this award. 

 

A formal presentation of the award will take place at the College and University Section’s luncheon at 12:30pm on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at the Harrah's Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City, NJ. Please join the NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ Executive Board in offering Richard congratulations and appreciation for his contributions to the academic library profession.