The Rittenhouse Medical Bookstore in Philadelphia, PA, originally established the award in 1967. Now, Rittenhouse Book Distributors continues the tradition. The Rittenhouse Award, is presented annually by the Medical Library Association (MLA) for the best unpublished paper or web-based project on health sciences librarianship or medical informatics, submitted by a student in an American Library Association (ALA)–accredited program of library and information studies or by a trainee in an internship in health sciences librarianship or medical informatics. The author of the winning essay or project receives complimentary student registration to MLA’s annual meeting, a certificate at the meeting, and a cash award of $500 after the meeting.
Eligibility
- Author must be a member of MLA.
- Have recently graduated from an ALA-accredited program of library and information studies during the last eighteen months OR be enrolled as a trainee in an internship program in health sciences librarianship or medical informatics.
Criteria for Papers/Web-based Projects
- Papers must have been written or web-based project completed during the 18 months preceding the deadline and during the student’s course work toward a graduate degree in library and information studies or medical informatics.
- Papers or web-based projects must treat some aspect of health sciences librarianship or medical informatics and may be bibliographical, address a health sciences issue or topic, or report the results of research.
- Papers which have been published publicly in any print or electronic format or are under consideration for publication are not eligible.
- Authors of web-based projects should submit a needs assessment, information on development of the website, evaluation of the website, and a summary outlining the project plan and evaluation results.
- Papers or projects must be received by November 1, 2016.
Standards for Review
- Importance of topic that would warrant a bibliographic treatment or web-based project, or the quality of the experimental design or arguments developed to support a particular hypothesis or question;
- Originality of the argument, positions taken, methodological rigor, or website solution;
- Impact on the field of health sciences librarianship or medical informatics; and
- Style (clarity, appearance, conciseness, organization, structure).
Winning entries will be submitted to the Journal of the Medical Library Association for consideration.
The recipient will be notified in March before the annual meeting at which the presentation will be made. The recipient assumes all costs of attending the meeting and the ceremony at which the presentation is made. If there are no appropriate candidates, the association may elect not to make the award in a given year.
Ready to Submit an Application?
Choose the 2017 Rittenhouse Award online nomination form. The completed online form (http://www.mlanet.org/e/sx/tk/eid=24) and all uploaded documents must be received by November 1, 2016. Incomplete and late submissions will not be considered.
