The Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 31 OCTOBER 2008
Guidelines and Rules for Submissions
The Katharine Kyes Leab & Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Awards are given annually in recognition of excellence in the publication of catalogs and brochures that accompany exhibitions of library and archival materials, as well as for electronic exhibitions of such materials. They are administered by the Exhibition Awards Committee of the ALA/ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS), whose operating expenses are covered by a generous endowment from the Leabs.
The Committee acts as the jury for the awards. Materials are circulated for review by committee members in November and December; the judging takes place in January, in a closed session at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association; and the results are announced in the spring. Certificates for this year's competition will be presented to the winning institutions in a ceremony at the 2009 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, in Chicago, Illinois.
Submissions are judged on originality, accuracy of detail, informational content, effectiveness of design, and other factors, according to detailed lists of evaluation criteria. (The Committee does reserve the right not to make an award in a division, though this happens extremely rarely.) While the Committee serves as the final jury, they may occasionally, before meeting, seek outside advice for the better understanding of highly specialized content.
A first-place award and occasionally an honorable mention or special award of merit will be given in each of five divisions: Divisions One, Two, and Three, comprising Expensive, Moderately Expensive, and Inexpensive Printed Catalogs; Division Four, Printed Brochures; and Division Five, Electronic Exhibitions.
Printed Catalogs may be of varying formats, styles, and scope--e.g., an inclusive list of items in an exhibition, a selective list, or a narrative with some specific citations. The Committee sorts them into the three divisions based on the production costs as given in the entry forms.
Exhibition Brochures, a fourth division introduced in 2001, includes printed leaflets, guides, and informative broadsheets that orient the viewer to an exhibition and are available on site for free or at low cost ($1.00 or less).
Electronic Exhibitions, the fifth division, was established at ALA Midwinter 2003, following a three-year pilot project conducted by the Committee, and the first award was given in 2004. An "electronic exhibition" may be understood as either a representation of and/or supplement to an exhibition of physical materials (i.e. as the online equivalent of a printed catalog), or as a "virtual" exhibition existing only in electronic format.
The eligibility requirements for the 2009 Leab Awards are:
- Printed library and archival exhibition catalogs and brochures must have been published between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008 and represent exhibitions that were in progress before 31 August 2008.
- Electronic library and archival exhibitions are limited to those with stable URL addresses that were initially released between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008. Electronic exhibitions submitted for consideration should be available online through September 2009 to allow adequate time for public viewing.
- Entries in all categories must be submitted by
1531 October 2008. Entries clearly postmarked or shipped on or before that date will be accepted. - Participation is limited to library and archival institutions, and consortia of such institutions, in the United States and Canada, including independent and public libraries, as well as libraries and archives associated with colleges, universities, historical and bibliophilic societies, and museums.
For instructions on submitting catalogs, brochures, or electronic exhibitions, please use the links to the specific entry forms below. (These forms are good for any year: entry into the correct competition is based on the publication or release date, and materials may be submitted at any time--bearing in mind the applicable deadline.)
Please note that all materials submitted become the property of RBMS. Catalogs, brochures, and (when they are submitted as adjuncts to electronic exhibitions) CDs, DVDs or other storage media, become part of depository collections, available for public consultation, at the Grolier Club (New York City), the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin, and the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. It is an important function of the Leab Awards program to build and preserve these archives of the best work in the field.
Links to lists of entries and winners for other years may be found on the RBMS Exhibition Awards Committee page.
Also available on the RBMS Exhibition Awards Committee pages:
Questions concerning the awards and the submission process should be directed to Richard Noble, RBMS Exhibition Awards Committee Chair (2007-2009), John Hay Library / Brown University / Providence, RI, 02912, or e-mail Richard_Noble@brown.edu.