Jennifer Mendelsohn, head of the Noranda Earth Sciences Library at the University of Toronto, is the 1999 recipient of the Reference Service Press Award, presented by the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association (ALA).
The award, $1,000 and a plaque donated by Reference Service Press Inc., is given to the author of the most outstanding article published in RQ, RUSA's official journal, during the preceding two volume years.
Mendelsohn received the award for "Perspectives on Quality of Reference Service in an Academic Library: A Qualitative Study," published in the Summer, 1997 RQ, volume 36, number 4 (pages 544-557). Want to read this award-winning article online? Click here.
"Mendelsohn's article reflects the reality of work at the reference desk in an academic library, and offers an alternative method of evaluating quality service," stated Marian Shemberg, chair of the award committee. "In her qualitative study, Mendelsohn gives the perspective of both patron and librarian and offers a combination of models of reference service."
Source: American Library Association press release, 1999.
