Do you know someone who goes the extra mile? Is there a team that makes you think “Wow that is awesome!”? Who do you look up to and respect? Maybe you want to acknowledge the work that someone is doing that is above and beyond. I’m delighted to open this year’s call for nominations to the BCCATS J. McRee Elrod Leadership Award. Nominations will close Friday, February 23, 2025.
About the award:
The BCCATS J. McRee Elrod Leadership Award recognizes excellence in technical services of an individual or team working in British Columbia. The award honours J. McRee (Mac) Elrod (1932-2016), a founder of BCCATS, and draws inspiration from Mac’s lifelong dedication to patron-centred values, social justice, and intellectual freedom. Visit the Award webpage for a list of previous recipients.
Nomination criteria will include at least some of the following:
- Demonstrated impact on users, the library and/or colleagues across B.C.
- Demonstrated collaboration with colleagues or other institutions
- Commitment to intellectual freedom principles, beyond ideology or partisanship
- Worthy of inspiring similar efforts within the profession
- Must have worked in B.C. within the past year
Examples of activities having an impact on technical services might include:
- Mentoring or leading workshops for library workers, especially those expanding their portfolio or transitioning into technical services
- Initiating new or improved best practices, such as: developing or implementing formats, methods, techniques, equipment or routines that demonstrate creativity and innovation
- Leveraging technical services for Indigenous and other underserved populations
- Active involvement in professional organizations
- Contributions to publication and/or research
- Implementation of innovative projects, programs, or services
- Exemplary record or lifelong impact on extending technical services for libraries
How to nominate a candidate for the BCCATS J. McRee Elrod Leadership Award:
To nominate a colleague or team, go to the BCLA Awards portal located here: BCLA Awards Nominations | BCLA Complete and submit the form by end of day, Friday, February 23, 2025.
If you have trouble with the link you can access the page by going to the BCLA Home page and navigating to About Us > BCLA Awards > BCLA Awards Nominations.
This year’s Awards Committee comprises Brian McGuiness (West Vancouver Memorial Library), Michael Baird (Okanagan Regional Library), and Richard Violette (Greater Victoria Regional Library; Special Libraries Cataloguing).