IU Southeast Librarian Maria Accardi Wins National Award for Significant Achievement in Women’s Studies Librarianship

18th February 2014

IU Southeast Librarian Maria Accardi Wins National Award for Significant Achievement in Women’s Studies Librarianship

Maria T. Accardi, coordinator of library instruction at Indiana University Southeast, won the 2014 Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Women and Gender Studies Section (WGSS) Award for Significant Achievement in Woman’s Studies Librarianship. The WGSS award honors a significant one-time contribution to women’s studies librarianship. Accardi will be honored at the WGSS program during the ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas on June 30, 2014.

IU Southeast Librarian Maria Accardi

IU Southeast Librarian Maria Accardi

Marty Rosen, Director of the IU Southeast Library, said, “Maria Accardi is a creative, energetic scholar-librarian with very innovative ideas about library instruction. She’s incredibly passionate about the theory and practice of librarianship and is dedicated to exploring new library strategies for improving student learning and success. This award confirms that her ideas are starting to exert a national impact. It’s also, I think, reflective of the high quality, high-impact scholarly and creative work produced by faculty and librarians across all of the campuses of Indiana University.”

Accardi received the award in recognition of her book Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction (2013, Library Juice Press).  Jennifer Mayer, chair of the award committee, said, “The committee was impressed by her book-length treatment of the intersection of information literacy and feminist theory, which is unique, important and fills a gap in the literature.”

Mayer noted that, “While theoretical, the book is also an accessible, practical handbook including exercises and assessment strategies. Accardi’s work also helps readers apply and integrate feminist pedagogical approaches in less-likely places—across the curriculum, in online classes, and with students who may not identify with feminism or understand the relevance in their lives.”

Mayer concluded by saying “‘Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction’ is a must-read for any librarian with interests in feminist issues, pedagogy, and library instruction.”

Accardi has worked at IU Southeast for more than six years. She received her M.L.I.S. from the University of Pittsburgh and her M.A. in English from the University of Louisville.

For more information regarding the ACRL WGSS Award for Significant Achievement in Women’s Studies Librarianship please visit the awards section of the ACRL website.

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