ATLANTA (Oct. 16, 2018) – Loretta Parham, CEO and Director of the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, has been selected to receive the 2018 James Partridge Outstanding African American Information Professional Award.

Presented by the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland and the Citizens for Maryland Libraries (CML), the award honors the unsung members of the library profession who contribute greatly but are often behind the scenes or not publicly recognized for their significant contributions to librarianship and the library community. Recipients must exemplify the highest ideals of the library and information profession including, career-long dedicated service, leadership and a commitment to the empowerment of those whom they serve.

Parham joins a prestigious group of information professionals who have won this award over the past two decades. She will be presented with the award on Nov. 9 at the Conference on Inclusion and Diversity in Library & Information Science (CIDLIS) at the University of Maryland.

With more than 30 years in the profession, Parham serves as Chair of the ALA Committee on Accreditation, Chair of the ARCHE (Atlanta Regional Council on Higher Education) Library Council, co-founder of the Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Library Alliance and is a member of the EDUCAUSE Board of Directors.

James Partridge was an advocate for the right of all people to read and to learn. He worked to improve library service to the public throughout his career.

About the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library

The Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library serves the nation’s largest consortium of historically black colleges and universities, which includes Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College and Spelman College. As the intellectual center of this prestigious academic community, the Library’s mission is to provide the highest level of information resources and services in support of student and faculty success and the cultural preservation of the Atlanta University Center. In addition to the aesthetic benefits of this state-of-the-art facility, the Library has evolved into a model repository of information resources and a front-runner in the innovative delivery of digital resources. The AUC Woodruff Library is the winner of the 2016 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in the university category from the Association of Collegiate and Research Libraries (ACRL). Library CEO Loretta Parham was named the ACRL 2017 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year. Additional information