May 19, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jerry W. Stephens, Ph.D., librarian and director of the Mervyn H. Sterne Library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), recently received the 2008 Significant Contribution Award from the Alabama Association of College and Research Libraries (AACRL) Executive Board. The award was presented at the AACRL Annual Meeting on April 23.

The award is presented annually and recognizes the achievements and significant contributions of organizations, groups, vendors and individuals in the area of college and research libraries in Alabama, around the nation and worldwide.

Stephens helped establish the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) in 1984, the first statewide library consortia to treat public and non-profit private institutions as equal partners. He also played a leadership role in the implementation of the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL), a set of electronic databases available for K-12, post-secondary and higher education institutions as well as public libraries.

In addition to helping found important organizations, Stephens has been a member of several boards, councils and committees, including the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Board of Trustees, the Southeastern Library Network (Solinet) Board, numerous Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation teams and the Library Service Construction Act (LSCA) Advisory Council for the Alabama Public Library Service.