Stanford University Libraries announced the launch of the second Stanford Prize for Innovation in Research Libraries (SPIRL), a prize to recognize and celebrate innovation through programs, projects, and/or new or improved services that directly or indirectly benefit readers and users. The goal of the prize is to single out for community attention and to celebrate functionally significant results of the innovative impulses in libraries anywhere in the world that support research.

Eligibility for SPIRL includes research, national, or other library that supports research activities. Awards will be based on a single programmatic or project undertaking and/or a sustained culture and profile of encouraging effective and sustainable innovation; the effect of such efforts must have measurable impact on the library's own clientele as well as the potential for influencing the practices and/or standards of research librarianship generally.

Entries must be received on or before January 15, 2014. Official entry form and rules are available at spirl.stanford.edu. The winner(s) will be announced in late February 2014 and a modest cash purse will be awarded.

The first SPIRL prizes were awarded in February 2013 to Bibliothèque nationale de France for their projects Gallica Library and Discovery Service, and to Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes for their service oriented platform for the management of metadata and content in digital libraries. Commendations of Merit were awarded to Griffith University for their Research Hub project, and to New York Public Library for their New York Public Library Labs project.

Chief Judge for SPIRL 2014 will be Elisabeth Niggemann (Deutsch Nationalbibliothek). Other judges will be Dame Lynne Brindley (Master of Pembroke College, Oxford), Charles Henry (Council on Library and Information Resources), Rick Luce (University of Oklahoma), Ann Okerson (Center for Research Libraries), Bruno Racine (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Dongfang Shao (Library of Congress), and Karin Wittenborg (University of Virginia).

Stanford University Libraries supports the teaching, learning and research mandates of the University through delivery of bibliographic and other information resources and services to faculty, students and staff. It is tackling the challenges of the digital age while continuing the development, preservation and conservation of its extensive print, media and manuscript collections.

Contact:
Sonia Lee, Stanford University Libraries
(650) 736-9538, sonialee@stanford.edu

Web resources: Entry Form  and  SPIRL Website