ALCTS has named Valerie Bross the 2012 recipient of the Ulrich’s Serials Librarianship Award. This award for distinguished contributions to serials, presented by the Continuing Resources Section (CRS), consists of a citation and $1,500
donated by ProQuest through its Serials Solutions business unit.
Valerie Bross, head of the continuing resources cataloging section at the UCLA Library Cataloging & Metadata Center, was named for innumerable significant achievements. Her exceptional and distinguished contributions to the field of
serials librarianship have included a consistent and wide-ranging role in the development and testing of cataloging standards, including influential work on no fewer than 13 PCC/CONSER task forces. She was cited for her prominent leadership in the cooperative
cataloging community, not only as representative of her own institution on the CONSER Operations Committee and as member and frequent chair or co-chair of its working groups, but also as first coordinator of the highly successful University of California CONSER
Funnel Project, which extended training and widened opportunity for participation among the campuses that had not been independent members of CONSER. This model provided a template for the subsequent development of a geographically dispersed CONSER Funnel
program among member libraries of ATLA (the American Theological Libraries Association ).
Bross has shown exceptional leadership in the field of cataloger training, providing guidance, support, content and testing for much wider use of online tools and webinars for serials cataloger training and continuing education. She
co-chaired (with Jennifer Young of Northwestern) the ALCTS-CRCC-sponsored RDA Testing Task Force, expanding the number of partners with serials expertise involved in testing the new cataloging code.
Bross combines a consistent and career-long profile as an early adopter, tester and trainer in the use of new tools and technologies, with an uncanny ability to convey to others her enthusiasm for learning and mastering new skills. One
of the letters supporting her nomination writes “many people have expertise, but few people have her tireless energy and enthusiasm.” Her exceptional participation in the setting of industry standards, in the modernization of training for serials catalogers
and ongoing contributions to professional organizations set her apart as a creative leader in our discipline.
Jane Smith
Associate Professor
Coordinator of Electronic Resources
Texas A&M University
5000 TAMU
College Station, Texas 77843
Tel. 979-862-3070