Xenia Daily Gazette

CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University’s Julie Deardorff, M.L.I.S., director of collection services and associate professor of library science, has been awarded the Jay Ladd Distinguished Service Award as the top academic librarian in the state of Ohio by the Academic Library Association of Ohio.

Deardorff has served at Cedarville’s Centennial Library for 20 years, selecting and ordering materials, reviewing university curriculum and managing staff and operations.

The award recognizes Deardorff as an active member of the ALAO for at least five years who has provided leadership in the library profession. Deardorff has served on the ALAO executive board, chaired the collection management interest group and given multiple presentations at the association’s conferences.

The ALAO also acknowledged Deardorff’s role in promoting academic libraries on campus and within the state. Ten years ago, Deardorff created the Centennial Library Careers Program, an influential library career exploration program in Ohio.

“The Centennial Library Careers Program provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to learn about the wide variety of careers available in libraries and related fields,” Deardorff said. “Students meet with librarians, experiment with various aspects of library work and explore issues and ethics of the field.”

University students participate in the program through internships, immersion activities, career dinners and informal mentoring. Each year, a scholarship is awarded to a student pursuing a master’s in library science.

“To have a chance to directly interact with these students has been really amazing,” Deardorff said. “It’s an honor to have it recognized by a group like ALAO, which is an organization that I really respect.”