ALAO 2025 Annual Conference Awards Recap

The awards and grants that have been established by ALAO are our way of supporting and recognizing the amazing work that is being done by our ALAO members and library community. This lunchtime event is always such a memorable piece of the Annual Conference!

Here are the 2025 scholarship, grant and award recipients:

• The Research and Publications Committee Research Grant was awarded to Catie Carlson (University of Cincinnati Clermont College).
• The TEDSIG TEDdy Award for distinguished service by an ALAO member in the fields of Technical, Electronic and Digital Services was presented to Lauren Marshall (John Carroll University).
• The Support Staff Conference Grants were awarded to Jacqui Allen (Shawnee State University) and Alyssa Cruz (Ohio State University). These awards are intended to encourage staff participation and development in ALAO activities by offsetting registration and travel expenses to attend and/or present at the ALAO Annual Conference.
• The Continuing Education Grant was awarded to Meagan Fowler (Cuyahoga Community College).  This award is meant to defray costs of participating in conferences, workshops, seminars, and similar library-related educational opportunities.

The 2025 ALAO People’s Choice Poster Award winner was Preserving Libraries’ Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work: A Directory of Projects for the Present and the Future from Ken Irwin (Miami University).

Deidra Herring-Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award

The Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award was established in 2016 to honor individuals who demonstrate excellence as a mentor and named in memory of its first recipient. It is given annually to an academic librarian who has demonstrated excellence as a mentor.

This year’s recipient of the Kathryn Venditti Mentoring Award is Deidra Herring, Associate Professor and Education Librarian at the Ohio State University.

This year’s award committee was thoroughly impressed with the robust nature of this nomination.This year’s nomination was written by not one but many of the librarians that have been shaped by Deidra’s mentorship, who have discovered confidence, courage, and direction through generous mentorship and example. “Few colleagues embody the true spirit of mentorship as fully, who leads with altruism, empathy, and generosity. Her impact on Ohio libraries and the profession is best measured by the librarians she has mentored”. The Mary P. Key Diversity Resident program was one of the nation’s longest running diversity residency programs in academic librarianship. Though it is now gone into hiatus the nominee has remained one of its de facto guardians and signature mentor. Deidra has offered professional guidance, personal encouragement, and inspiration to countless early career librarians. The extensive mentoring of new and early-career librarians is exactly what embodies the spirit of this award. 

The Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award is named for a former Ohio State University librarian who was instrumental in the formation of ALAO. It honors individuals with a strong record of promoting academic libraries, librarianship, and strong leadership. 

Katy Mathuews-Jay Ladd Service Award

This year’s recipient of the Jay Ladd Service Award is Katy Mathuews, The Executive Director and CEO of OhioNet, in recognition of her exemplary contributions to ALAO and other Ohio academic library professional communities.  

Even before Katy took on her new role this year as OhioNet’s Executive Director and CEO, she was already a recognized leader in academic librarianship throughout the state. Under her leadership, ALAO developed partnerships with a number of state-wide library organizations. In her current role she has taken the lead to ensure that our efforts as an academic library community continue to promote belonging for all despite political pressures. ALAO has greatly benefited under her leadership as it made strides in its strategic goals of increasing our equity and inclusion efforts,improving its efficiency and organization and re-examining the function of appointed and elected positions. When the pandemic hit Katy helped ALAO members work though this difficult and uncertain time. “ALAO members are very fortunate to have her continued leadership as the CEO of OhioNet where she continues to help us as a partner in our important work”

Please join me in congratulating all of our grant, scholarship, and award winners!

2026 ALAO Elections – CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Considering professional service or leadership opportunities, or know someone who might be?  If so, please consider nominating yourself or a colleague for a position on the ALAO Board! 

2025-2026 ALAO Executive Board

This year’s elections will take place in spring 2026, with successful candidates officially assuming their positions at the ALAO Board Retreat in July. 

What does the ALAO Board do?

As the Ohio chapter of ACRL, we:

• Advance academic library services in our state and provide opportunities for education and growth for library personnel at all levels and at every career stage
• Sponsor an annual conference and spring workshops that focus on innovative topics and showcase Ohio academic librarians
• Provide scholarships and awards
• Maintain several active, diverse interest groups and committees.
• Have a mentoring program that pairs up Ohio academic librarians for peer-to-peer, inter-generational, leadership, or student mentoring relationships

ALAO Board members:

• Perform duties described in the Procedures Manual for their position
• Attend monthly Board meetings
• Participate in the annual Board planning retreat in July

This year, we will be soliciting nominations for the following elected positions:

• Vice President/President Elect
• Secretary   
• Board Member-at-Large (3 positions)
• Treasurer
• Public Relations Coordinator
• Membership Chair

You can read more about each position here 

Please submit nominations or self-nominations to the online 2026 ALAO Election Nomination Form by Friday, February 27, 2026

ALAO is also looking for volunteers for the following appointed positions to start in July 2026:

• Interest Group Coordinator
• Communications Editor
• Co-chair positions for subject specific interest groups

Please complete the volunteer form to indicate your interest in the above positions or email Sara Klink, Nominating Committee Chair, at pastpresident@alaoweb.org

Questions about the upcoming elections or volunteer opportunities?  Please feel free to contact Sara Klink (pastpresident@alaoweb.org) or Laura Birkenhauer (membership@alaoweb.org)