Peter McCracken (MSLS ‘95) has received the Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award for his contributions to serials librarianship. The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), gives the award annually. The award consists of a citation and $1,500.
McCracken, creator and publisher of shipindex.org, has helped improve the management of electronic serials content and has created automated services to help access serials online. While working as a reference librarian at East Carolina University and then at the University of Washington, McCracken recognized that improving database software and shared data programs would help libraries to better manage online journal collections, a storage of information that is growing rapidly with advances in technology. The A-Z list he produced from this idea was a foundation for several other products, including an electronic resource access and management system, a link resolver and more.
McCracken has also been involved in projects such as the National Information Standards Organization and Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (NISO/ALPSP) Journal Article Versions working group, which studies problems connected to different versions of journal articles.
"His support for OpenURL and accurate knowledgebases led him to collaborate with the United Kingdom Serials Group as co-chair of the joint NISO/UKSG KBART (Knowledge Bases and Related Tools) Working Group developing recommended practices for standardizing the transfer of data within and among information supply chain participants."
McCracken is recognized with the Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award for his leadership, diligence and dedication to improving tools and methods to make digital information databases more accessible and understandable for librarians and users.
Photo: Peter McCracken displays the Ulrich's Serials Librarianship Award during the awards ceremony.
