F A Sharr Award

The F A Sharr Award (renamed from the F A Sharr Medal in 2015) is maintained by the ALIAWest Group, with the generous support of the WA Library Technicians Group.

In keeping with the spirit of the award, the successful candidate must be a resident of Western Australia at the time of application for the award.

In the case that no applicants satisfactorily meet all the criteria, no award will be presented. The prestige of the award must be preserved.

About the F A Sharr Award

The F A Sharr Award is named after Francis Aubie (Ali) Sharr, State Librarian in Western Australia from 1953 to 1976, in recognition of his contribution to libraries and librarianship in Western Australia and to the profession more broadly.

The award was inaugurated in 1976 when the F A Sharr Medal was presented to late Mrs Jean Ryding, a Western Australian student of librarianship. The award is now presented to a Western Australian librarian, teacher librarian, or library technician within their first three years following graduation, who exhibits the most potential to make a significant contribution to the library profession in WA.

The award is determined from:

• Award selection criteria
• Interview
• Presentation
• Referee reports

Award Selection Criteria

To be eligible for the award the nominees must be:

• A current Western Australian resident, having graduated from an ALIA accredited course in the last three years. The 2023 award is open to those who graduated in or after January 2019.
• An Associate (personal) Member of ALIA

Selection criteria:

1. Demonstrated understanding of the values of ALIA and how these might be embodied in your professional activities. (Max 250 words)
2. Demonstrated involvement in ALIA, other professional bodies and/or community groups and so on. (Max 250 words)
3. Demonstrated understanding of current issues facing the library and information industry by briefly identifying and discussing ways forward on up to three issues. (Max 750 words)

Selected nominees will be asked to provide a verbal 10 minute presentation on the topic 'An important future issue impacting on the nominee's preferred field' as part of the interview process. This will be based on one of the issues raised in selection criteria number 3 of the application.

Nominees are to address the selection criteria in their applications. Nominees are required to supply names and contact details for at least two referees - one should demonstrate professional involvement, one should be academic or work-related.

Nomination and Selection Process

There are two nomination options.

Option 1: Self-nomination
Option 2: Nomination by a colleague

Option 1: Self-nomination

Self-nominations must include:

• Nominee details, including a current curriculum vitae
• Statement addressing the award selection criteria
• Details of two referees
• ALIA Associate (personal) membership number
• Certificate of completion of library and information studies or library technician course

Please submit your nomination to [email protected] or contact the Committee if you require further information about the F A Sharr Award.

Option 2: Nomination by a colleague

Colleagues, peers, mentors, and supervisors are encouraged to nominate an individual whom they believe would be a worthy recipient of the award.

• An online form is available to assist with nominating an individual for the F A Sharr Award.
• Nominees will be contacted by ALIAWest and invited to complete the self-nomination process outlined above.

A panel will be convened by the ALIAWest Committee, with representatives from the WA Library Technicians Group and the State Library of WA, to interview selected nominees.

The selection panel devises a short series of interview questions each year to measure candidates against the selection criteria. The candidate is also asked to provide a verbal 10 minute presentation on the topic 'An important future issue impacting on the nominee's preferred field' expanding on one of the points raised in criteria three of the application. After the interviews, the selection panel will review the interviews and presentation to select the award recipient.

The winner is presented with their award during Library and Information Week.

The panel may choose not to grant the award.

Role of the Award Recipient

The Award recipient becomes the ambassador for the award and is expected to be actively involved in ALIA by joining the ALIAWest Committee and by promoting the award to encourage applications for the following year. The recipient will also be required to provide a short presentation on how the bursary was spent to the ALIAWest Committee and/or at an ALIAWest event, as appropriate. 

Past Recipients

View past recipients

Past recipients

Important Dates