{"id":51869,"date":"2023-07-12T12:01:36","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T16:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=51869"},"modified":"2023-07-18T08:28:11","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T12:28:11","slug":"utcs-chapel-cowden-honored-with-national-librarian-recognition-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/07\/utcs-chapel-cowden-honored-with-national-librarian-recognition-award\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC\u2019s Chapel Cowden honored with national Librarian Recognition Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chapel

Chapel Cowden received the Librarian Recognition Award at the annual American Library Association conference in Chicago (photo credit: Victor Baeza).<\/p><\/div>\n

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Health and Science Librarian and UC Foundation Associate Professor Chapel Cowden was selected by the Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) as the recipient of the 2023 LIRT Librarian Recognition Award.<\/p>\n

The Librarian Recognition Award was created to recognize an individual\u2019s contribution to developing, advancing and supporting information literacy and instruction. Cowden is the 10th recipient of the award.<\/p>\n

In announcing her for the honor, the ALA cited Cowden\u2019s research on culturally responsive pedagogy in library instruction classes, her leadership and her membership on numerous committees. She received the award at the association\u2019s annual conference in Chicago in late June.<\/p>\n

\"Chapel

Chapel Cowden<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt was nice to be recognized by the American Library Association, the highest accrediting body for librarianship,\u201d said Cowden, who received a bachelor\u2019s degree in anthropology from UTC in 2003 and a master\u2019s in information sciences from UT Knoxville in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for me, personally, it is sometimes difficult to think about taking credit, but I was excited to accept the award. My acceptance speech was about the work we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

A health and science librarian since 2013, Cowden said her work involves collaborating with faculty on curriculum and instruction, teaching \u201csomewhere in the ballpark of 30 or so individual sessions over the course of a semester\u201d about research and the research information environment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about creating connections, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeaching is a big part of what I do,\u201d Cowden explained, \u201cand I help people navigate that system. How do you find the right information at the right time to utilize in your work? And more importantly, how do you evaluate that information?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ll meet with students and I\u2019ll also meet with faculty. We\u2019re always looking to measure and maximize research impact and help them through the research process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowden, who began her UTC library career in 2008, previously served as the circulation day supervisor and as an archives specialist before moving into her current role. She also is an adjunct faculty member in the Honors College.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thrilled to learn Chapel was recognized for her outstanding work by ALA,\u201d said UTC Library Dean Theresa Liedtka, who called Cowden \u201ca library leader at the local and national level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been colleagues for over 15 years,\u201d Liedtka said, \u201cand Chapel has been instrumental in moving the Library forward in positive directions\u2014be it through her pioneer work in digitizing special collections, developing a problem-based approach to instruction or exploring new forms of bibliometrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowden has served on several national committees, including the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Science and Technology section\u2019s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and Implementation Team. She has held leadership roles on several other ACRL science and technology committees, including the Development Task Force, Research Committee and Professional Development Committee.<\/p>\n

Library Instruction Round Table Librarian Recognition Award Recipients:<\/h4>\n