Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries

The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) is a Caribbean library organization founded in 1969. It is based in the José M. Lázaro Library of the University of Puerto Rico.[1]

About ACURIL

The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) was first created in 1969 at a conference sponsored by the Association of Caribbean Universities and the Institute of Caribbean Studies at University of Puerto Rico. The first leaders of the organization were: President Dr. Alma Theodora Jordan, Vice President Dr. Albertina Perez de Rosa, and Secretary/Treasurer Dr. Luisa Vigo-Cepeda.

ACURIL supports collaboration between university and research libraries. It believes in embracing different libraries which encompass research, including public libraries and special libraries.[1][2] ACURIL has been essential to professional inspiration for many librarians in the Caribbean region, providing them with continuing educational opportunities and creating a conducive environment for collaboration with other professionals.[3] Growth of regional bodies of international associations such as ACURIL has been attributed to greater international awareness after the Second World War and to the regular and affordable air transportation.[4] Its name was changed to the Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries in 1976.[2]

Goals

The mission of ACURIL is to "facilitate development and use of libraries, archives, and information services and the identification, collection and preservation of information resources in support of the whole range of intellectual and educational endeavors throughout the Caribbean area".[5] Furthermore, the ACUIRL is determined to establish a distinct and effective organization of qualified individuals in the fields of archival and library science as well as to sustain an enduring presence within the Caribbean region with a unification of information professionals.[5]

ACURIL's achievements include grouping together regional projects that work towards improving the retrieval of information that is created in the region.[2]

Membership

Any type of library, archive, organization or individual in a country that borders the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean is eligible for membership in the ACURIL organization. There are four types of membership: institutional, organizational, personal and associate. Institutional membership includes libraries, archives and schools of library and information. Organizational membership includes national, regional and other special library organizations and associations. Personal membership is for practicing information professionals, students who are enrolled in information courses of study, non salaried librarians including retired and unemployed, and honorary members. Any individuals or organizations outside of the Caribbean and borders of the Gulf of Mexico are eligible for an associate membership.[6] The main official languages of ACURIL members include English, Spanish, Dutch, and French and encompass 26 nations.[5][7]

Conferences

Awards

Since 2000, ACURIL has given awards to three areas: Institutions, Information professionals, and the Caribbean information professional of the year.
Each area encompasses several awards, which are given annually at ACURIL conferences.[22]

Institutional awards
ACURIL President's Award
  • Recognizes and distinguishes a school, public or national library in the Caribbean, which has demonstrated excellence of service providing a program to satisfy special community information needs. Established in 2000 by former Jamaican president Stephney Ferguson.
  • 2014 winner: Elizabeth Estates Public Library, Nassau, Bahamas
OCLC Recognition for Promoting the OCLC Cooperative in the Caribbean
  • The OCLC Recognition award — recognizes institutions with librarians from the Caribbean library community for their commitment within the library cooperative and for their involvement in promoting cooperation in the region.
  • 2014 winners:
Leadership in the Use of New Information Technologies to Expand and Facilitate Access to Electronic Content
  • EBSCO Information Services Award — recognizes and distinguishes a school, academic, public or national library for its innovative, creative and effective achievement in planning and implementing a program or service with electronic publications, using information technologies, for the benefit of its clientele.
  • 2014 winners:
  • The College of The Bahamas Libraries and Instructional Media Services (LIMS)
  • Dr. Arturo Carrión Pacheco Library at the Learning and Information Resources Center, Universidad Central del Caribe (UCC), Puerto Rico
Innovative and Effective Information Services with the Application of Information Technologies
  • Systems Link International Award — recognizes and distinguishes a school, academic, public or national library for its innovative, creative and effective achievement in planning and implementing a program or service, for the benefit of its clientele, using information technologies.
  • 2014 winner: Calvin McKain Library, University of Technology, Jamaica
Leadership in the Organization and Retrieval of Information with an Automation Program
  • Mandarin Library Automation Award — recognizes and distinguishes a school, academic, public or national library for its innovative, creative and effective achievement in the planning and development of the organization and retrieval of information, for the benefit of its clientele.
  • 2014 winner: The Belize National Library Service and Information System (BNLSIS), Belize
Leadership in the Development of Research Solutions that Connect People
  • ProQuest Award — recognizes and distinguishes a school, academic, public or national library for its innovative, creative and effective achievement in planning and implementing a program or service, for the benefit of its clientele, using information technologies.
  • 2014 winners:
The Albertina Pérez de Rosa Information Units Alliances and Collaborative Projects in the Caribbean
  • ACURIL, Puerto Rico Chapter Award — recognizes and honors the excellent performance of alliance and collaborative efforts of local or regional information units and communities of practice, or by private enterprises, evidenced through the implementation of successful information projects for the benefit of their clienteles in the Caribbean.
  • 2013 winner: National Library of Aruba
  • 2014 winner: The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC)

Information professionals awards
Excellence in Information Literacy
  • University of Puerto Rico, Graduate School of Information Sciences and Technologies Award, recognizes and honors innovative approaches of programs and services or outstanding publication related to information literacy by a colleague in a library, archive, document center environment, in the last two years, evidenced by the significant learning perceived by and satisfaction deriv97hed from its clienteles.
  • 2014 winners:
  • Penelope Nottage, Bahamas Library Service
  • Elsie Bain, College of The Bahamas Library
Excellence in Research and Publications
  • ACURIL Research Interest Group Award, recognizes and honors the individual commitment, excellence in performance, and outstanding achievement of an information professional (librarian, archivist, documentalist, etc.), member of ACURIL.
  • 2014 winners:

Information Professional of the Year
  • The Information Professional of the Year award honors the individual commitment, excellence in performance, and outstanding professional achievement of an information specialist (librarian, archivists, documentalists, etc.) in the Caribbean, members of ACURIL (in any of the linguistic areas: English, French or Dutch and Spanish).
  • 2014 winner: Judith V. Rogers, Director of Libraries, University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas[23]
  • 2015 winner: Dulce María Núñez de Taveras, Library System's Director of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, of the Dominican Republic
  • 2016 winner: Monique Alberts, St. Maarten's Philipsburgh Jubilee Library,[24]
  • 2017 winner: Dr. Marisol Florén-Romero, Florida International University[25]
  • 2018 winner: Dr. Laurie N. Taylor, University of Florida and Digital Library of the Caribbean[26]
  • 2019 winner: Cheryl Peltier-Davis, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

Contact information

The General Headquarters of the Association is in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and physically located at the Caribbean Regional Library and Latin American Studies, within the José M. Lázaro Library of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 23317, UPR Station, San Juan, PR 00931–3317. Tel (787)790-8054; Fax (787)790-8054[27]

See also

References
  1. Mathews, Thomas (January 1993). "Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries". In Robert Wedgeworth (ed.). World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services. American Library Association. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-8389-0609-5.
  2. Spiegel (6 November 2013). "What is ACURIL?". ACURILNET. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  3. Jordan, Alma (1982). "ACURIL-Treasure of My Dreams". COMLA Newsletter. 35.
  4. Lor, Peter Johan (9 Dec 2009). "International and Comparative Librarianship". Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences. Third Edition. Taylor & Francis Online.
  5. Jordan, A. (1989). The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL). IFLA Journal, 15(3), 233-236.
  6. "Membership". ACURILNET. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. "ACURIL 2011: The Role of Libraries and Archives in Disaster Preparedness, Response and Research". 24 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. admin. "Home - Full Screen Slide Show". Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  9. ACURIL 2015 — Suriname
  10. "ACURIL 2014 — Bahamas". Archived from the original on 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  11. "ACURIL 2013 — Puerto Rico". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
  12. ACURIL 2012 — Haiti
  13. https://cibernotasacurilcybernotes.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/acuril-final-programme-may17rev1.pdf
  14. Association of Caribbean University, Research, and Institutional Libraries., ed. Long, A. K. (2011). ACURIL XLI: Proceedings from the annual conference : the role of libraries and archives in disaster preparedness, response, and research. Tampa, Fla: Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries.
  15. ACURIL 2010 —Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  16. ACURIL 2009 — Guadeloupe
  17. ACURIL 2008 — Montego Bay, Jamaica
  18. Digital Library of the Caribbean, ACURIL 2007 — San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  19. Association of Caribbean University, Research, and Institutional Libraries. ACURIL XXVII : 27th Annual Conference, 18–24 May 1997, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Annual Report, Programme and Papers Presented]. 1997.
  20. Association of Caribbean University, Research, and Institutional Libraries. Management of Resources in Caribbean Libraries and Information Centres. S.l: s.n.], 1992.
  21. Caribbean collections : recession management strategies for libraries : papers of the Thirty-Second Annual Meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, held jointly with the Eighteenth Conference of the Association of Caribbean University, Research, and Institutional Libraries, James L. Knight International Conference Center, Miami, Florida, May 10–15, 1987
  22. "Acurilean Awards". ACURILNET. ACURIL Publications and Public Relations Committee. Jan 29, 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved Sep 29, 2014.
  23. "UVI Librarian Named Caribbean Information Professional of 2014". University of the Virgin Islands. June 5, 2014. Retrieved Sep 29, 2014.
  24. "MONIQUE ALBERTS AWARDED CARIBBEAN INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR 2016-2017". ACURIL. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  25. "MARISOL FLORÉN-ROMERO CARIBBEAN INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 2017". The ACURILEAN Blog. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  26. "CARIBBEAN INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD". Center for Latin American Studies. University of Florida. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  27. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-11-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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