Renee D. Chapman Memorial Award

Renee D. Chapman Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions in Technical Services Law Librarianship

The Renee D. Chapman Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions in Technical Services Law Librarianship is presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries to an individual or group in recognition of achievement in an area of technical services, for services to the Association, or for outstanding contributions to the professional literature. Nominations for the award are solicited from November through March.

Factors considered in selecting the recipients of the Award include such things as the publishing, presenting, or sharing of innovative techniques or research, analysis or commentary; the development of software, hardware, or other mechanisms that significantly enhance access to collections; and the contribution of service to the Technical Services SIS as a whole. Achievements may be in the area of acquisitions, cataloging and classification, materials processing, preservation, automation, or technical services administration.

All members of AALL are invited to submit names for consideration by the TS-SIS Awards Committee. Each Nomination should include:

  • The Nomination Form which includes:
    • Name and contact information of the Nominee.
    • Name and contact information of those providing letters of support
    • Name and contact information of the person submitting the nomination (must be someone other than the nominee).
  • A Cover letter from the nominator that provides a concise description of the nominee's achievements.
  • The Nominee's resume/CV.
  • A minimum of three letters supporting the nomination.
  • Any additional information or documentation that may assist the Awards Committee in the evaluation of the nomination.

Nomination Deadline

Renee Chapman Award nominations are being solicited and will be accepted through March 1, 2024.

All materials in support of a nomination should be sent to:

Barbara Szalkowski
Core Operations Librarian
South Texas College of Law Houston
The Fred Parks Law Library
1303 San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002-7000

For further information, contact Barbara Szalkowski at (713) 646-1724 or bszalkowski@stcl.edu.

See also the Chapman Award section in the TS-SIS Handbook.

Past Recipients

View past recipients of the Renee Chapman Award.

  • About Renee Chapman

    Renee was killed in an auto accident on March 19, [1990], while returning to her home near Ithaca, N.Y. from a trip to the Midwest. She had been Catalog Management Librarian at Cornell University Library since fall 1989. Renee had been a member of AALL since 1975, and had served as chair of the Technical Services SIS in 1988/89. She was also a member of the Cataloging and Classification Standing Committee of TS-SIS. In addition, she was an active member of the Online Bibliographic Services SIS, chaired its RLIN Standing Committee from 1983 to 1985 and served on its Executive Board in 1986/87. Renee came to Cornell from the Charles B. Sears Law Library, SUNY/Buffalo, where she had served as Head, Technical Services from 1986 to 1989. Prior to that she was Head Cataloging Librarian at the University of Iowa Law Library (1981-1986) and Technical Services Librarian at Drake University Law Library (1975-1981). Renee was well known to all of us as a dedicated librarian who was always at the forefront of her profession, but also as a warm and caring friend. We will all cherish our memories of her, especially those informal moments at the convention when she showed us her wonderful sense of humor. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she was also an enthusiastic scholar, interested in women’s labor history. She had received her M.A. in History at SUNY/Buffalo in May 1989 and was working toward her Ph.D. at Cornell at the time of her death. A scholarship fund has been established by her husband Terry, to be used for the support of a female graduate student in history. Contributions to the fund should be made to: Renee Chapman Memorial Fund, c/o History Department, McGraw Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Renee will be missed by all who knew and worked with her, as we continue to be inspired by her example.

    From: Technical Services Law Librarian, vol. 15, no. 4 (May 1990), p. 28.