RUSA awards


The Reference and User Services Association is a division of the American Library Association. In 1972, the Adult Services Division and the Reference Services Division of the ALA were merged into the Reference and Adult Services Division, which created the RUSA in 1996.
RUSA gives out annual awards to notable books, media, and professional librarians. Awards are selected by RUSA's Collection Development and Evaluation Section committees, the Business Reference and Service Section, and the History Section.
Book and Media Awards include "Notable Books for Adults", selected by the RUSA Notable Books Council since 1944. The Notable Books Council is in the RUSA CODES Section. RUSA also recognizes outstanding professional achievement in reference librarianship and its many specialties with annual achievement awards at the division level and by each section.

2024 awards

The association annually recognizes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, audiobook narration, and reference materials. Recipients are selected by committees composed of professionals who specialize in adult services. The sections that give book and media awards are CODES, BRASS, and the History Section.
RUSA also honors librarians with professional achievement awards. Each RUSA section gives awards in its area of specialization.

CODES book and media awards

These awards are given by the RUSA Collection Development and Evaluation Section committees.

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction

The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, are administered by the American Library Association. The Reference and User Services Association and Booklist cosponsor the awards. Selection is by three former members of the RUSA CODES Notable Books Council and editors from Booklist.
The Sophie Brody Medal is an annual award of the Reference and User Services Association. It is given for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature for works published the previous year in the US. The award is named after Sophie Brody and was established by her husband, Arthur Brody, and the Brodart Foundation.
  • The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

    The Reading List

The Reading List is a RUSA CODES committee that compiles an annual list of the best genre books for the adult reader.
  • Adrenaline: Better the Blood: A Hana Westerman Thriller by Michael Bennett
  • Fantasy: Gods of the Wyrdwood: The Forsaken Trilogy, Book One by R. J. Barker
  • Historical fiction: Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel by Lisa See
  • Horror: The September House by Carissa Orlando
  • Mystery: A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
  • Relationship Fiction: The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
  • Romance: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley
  • Science fiction: House of Gold by C. T. Rwizi

    The Listen List

The Listen List Council of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section of the Reference and User Services Association includes fiction and nonfiction and features voices that enthrall, delight, and inspire.
  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. Narrated by Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal. HarperAudio.
  • Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Narrated by Shayna Small, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch, and Lee Osorio. Books on Tape.
  • Con/Artist: The Life and Crimes of the World's Greatest Art Forger by Tony Tetro and Giampiero Ambrosi. Narrated by Richard Ferrone, Tony Tetro, and Giampiero Ambrosi. Hachette Audio.
  • Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini. Narrated by Jennifer Hale. Macmillan Audio.
  • Happiness Falls by Angie Kim. Narrated by Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, and Thomas Pruyn. Books on Tape.
  • The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. Narrated by Dominic Hoffman. Books on Tape.
  • Infinity Gate by M. R. Carey. Narrated by Dami Olukoya. Hachette Audio.
  • King: A Life by Jonathan Eig. Narrated by Dion Graham. Macmillan Audio.
  • The Laughter by Sonora Jha. Narrated by Christopher Grove and Deepti Gupta. HarperAudio.
  • The Love You Save by Goldie Taylor. Narrated by Bahni Turpin. Harlequin Audio.
  • Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Narrated by Eunice Wong. Books on Tape.

    Essential Cookbooks 2024

Essential Cookbooks highlights titles for both avid home chefs and those just learning the rewards of making a meal.
  • Baking Yesteryear: The Best Recipes from the 1900s to the 1980s by B. Dylan Hollis. DK.
  • The Cook's Book: Recipes for Keeps & Essential Techniques to Master Everyday Cooking by Bri McKoy. Revell.
  • Every Season is Soup Season: 85+ Souper-Adaptable Recipes to Batch, Share, Reinvent, and Enjoy by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel with Wyatt Worcel. Chronicle Books.
  • The Global Pantry Cookbook: Transform Your Everyday Cooking with Tahini, Gochujang, Miso, and Other Irresistible Ingredients by Ann Taylor Pittman and Scott Mowbrary. Workman.
  • Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs & Juice: Cocktails from Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin. Clarkson Potter.
  • Latinísimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America by Sandra A. Gutierrez. Alfred A. Knopf.
  • Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours by Adeena Sussman. Avery.
  • Signature Cocktails by Amanda Schuster. Phaidon Press.
  • Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds by Hetty Lui McKinnon. Alfred A. Knopf.
  • Veg-table: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored, Vegetable-Focused Meals by Nik Sharma. Chronicle Books.
  • A Very Chinese Cookbook: 100 Recipes from China and Not China by Kevin Pang and Jeffrey Pang. America's Test Kitchen.

    Dartmouth Medal

The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance published during the previous calendar year.
  • Hymenoptera: The Natural History & Diversity of Wasps, Bees & Ants by Stephen A. Marshall. Firefly Books.

    BRASS outstanding business information sources

The Business Reference and Services Section focuses on all aspects of business reference. BRASS publications are Academic BRASS, a biannual newsletter produced by the Business Reference in Academic Libraries Committee; Public Libraries Briefcase, a quarterly column produced by the Business Reference in Public Libraries Committee; and BRASS Notes, a quarterly column devoted to news about current BRASS activities. Each year BRASS awards "Outstanding Business Reference Sources" and "Best of the Best Business Web Resources".

Outstanding business information sources

Each year, the Business Information Sources Committee of the Business Reference and Services Section selects the outstanding business information sources published since May of the previous year.
Outstanding
  • Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller. New York, NY: Scribner, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2022.
  • Routledge Handbook of the Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development edited by Natalia Yakovleva and Edmund Nickless. New York, NY: Routledge, 2022.
    Notable
  • Entrepreneurship in the Creative Industries: How Innovative Agents Skills and Networks Interact by Phillip McIntyre, Janet Fulton, Susan Kerrigan, and Michael Meany. Cham, CH: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.
  • Handbook of Research on Artificial Intelligence in Human Resource Management edited by Stefan Strohmeier. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022.
  • Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence by Jay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2022.