The American Library Association has named U-M’s Enriching Scholarship program the 2010 winner of the ALA/Information Today Inc. Library of the Future Award. This award is presented annually to a library that demonstrates innovative planning and development of patron training programs about information technology in a library setting.
The Enriching Scholarship is a collaborative program between the University Library, campus information technology divisions, and campuswide academic support units. In a weeklong curriculum each May, it offers dozens of workshops that enhance the effective integration of scholarly content and technology into teaching, service and research activities on the U-M campus in Ann Arbor.
“The university is honored to receive the Library of the Future Award for our Enriching Scholarship program,” says Teresa Sullivan, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “This recognition from the American Library Association/Information Today is a testament to the value of collaborative work that supports the effective integration of new technologies into teaching and research. We salute the University Library, Information and Technology Services, and the academic departments that are part of this important endeavor.”
The University Library already plays a significant role in helping faculty stay afloat and be able to fulfill their many teaching, service and research responsibilities. The library, with its mission to provide campuswide integration of intellectual content into teaching and research activities, is well positioned to extend its teaching role to include technology instruction into these vital activities.
The Enriching Scholarship program offers faculty an opportunity to take a rich array of workshops on an extensive variety of topics, all within a week’s span. The classes are broadly clustered into six categories:
• Web authoring and enhancement
• Proposals, funding and evaluation
• Multimedia tools
• Information management
• Technology for use with non-English language instruction
• Course development
“The program first began in 1998 and to date 5,500 individuals have attended nearly 340 sessions centered on the rapidly-changing field of technology and its impact on incoming students and our community at large,” John L. King, vice provost of academic information, wrote in his letter of support. “It is a model program that has great impact on our campus and outreach far beyond our physical boundaries.”
The announcement of the award was made by John Moorman, chair of the ALA jury appointed to adjudicate applications submitted for consideration of this award.
“The award jury members were impressed by the broad-based subject structure of the Enriching Scholarship program, its long-standing support on campus, and felt that the program would be a good model for other academic libraries to use within their campuses,” Moorman says. “The support letters from campus leaders shows the respect that the program has on the University of Michigan campus.”
The Library of the Future Award will be presented June 29 at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
For information about the 2010 Enriching Scholarship program go to www.umich.edu/~teachtec/es.html.
