University librarian Bruce Pencek receives 2010 Marta Lange/CQ Press Award
Bruce Pencek, assistant professor and college librarian for the social sciences at Virginia Tech, has been named the 2010 recipient of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Law and Political Science Section (LPSS) Marta Lange/CQ Press Award.
The award, established in 1996 by LPSS, honors an academic or law librarian who has made distinguished contributions to bibliography and information service in law or political science. CQ Press, sponsor of the award, will present the $1,000 award and plaque during the 2010 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
“Dr. Pencek deserves this award due to his work with students, his work with faculty, and his work in the profession,” Craig Brians, associate professor in political science (http://psci.vt.edu/) said. “With students, he tailors his class visits to their specific needs. Beyond the classroom, many students have told me that Dr. Pencek always replies to their e-mails within less than an hour -- day or night -- with helpful information.”
“There is something quite extraordinary about what Dr. Pencek brings to the table for students and faculty alike,” Scott Nelson, assistant professor in political science, added. “He conveys something essential about the basic dignity of knowledge and its uses.” Pencek empowers students and faculty “so that they are capable of advancing their own self-understandings, thereby fostering a kind of critical mastery of self and world,” Nelson said.
“Bruce Pencek is an innovator and a leader in establishing connections and collaborating with political science faculty,” said Barbara L. Morgan, chair of the award committee and law reference librarian at the University of Massachusetts. “He was instrumental in developing LPSS preconferences at the last two annual meetings of the American Political Science Association. In addition, he recently completed an outstanding term as editor of the LPSS News from 2006-10.”
Pencek received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Dickinson College in 1977. He earned his Master of Arts degree in government from Cornell University in 1982, where he also received his Ph.D. in government in 1988. He earned his Master of Science degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1998. He joined the faculty of the Virginia Tech Library in 2001.
