The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), recently announced the recipients of the 2026 Katharine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab American Book Prices Current Exhibition Catalog Awards. These annual awards recognize excellence in the production of catalogs and brochures that accompany exhibitions of library and archival materials, as well as for electronic exhibitions of such materials. The Leab Awards are administered by the Exhibition Awards Committee of the ACRL Rare Books and Manuscripts (RBMS) Section, whose operating expenses are covered by a generous endowment from Katharine Kyes Leab and Daniel J. Leab, former editors of American Book Prices Current.
As part of these announcements, the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (AARL) was named as an award winner in the Digital Catalog Awards for Excellence in Content - Digital Catalog Category for “Softness Was Always Ours: A Tender Tribute to Black Women and Girls” curated by FulcoLibrary staff member, Jami Adkins Murphy.
Additionally, AARL was recognized for Innovation in Audience Engagement - Digital Catalog Category for “Softness Was Always Ours: A Tender Tribute to Black Women and Girls” also curated by Jami Adkins Murphy.
This year, Leab Award recipients were determined by popular vote from ACRL and RBMS members. A listing of the 2026 Leab Award recipients is below, and all of ACRL’s past Leab Award recipients are listed on the ACRL Leab Awards website. The ACRL Awards program was on hiatus from 2022-2025, and recently relaunched. For more information regarding ACRL awards, please visit the ACRL Awards website.
Print Catalog Awards
Best in Show Print Catalog Category: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, for Women on the Move: An Exhibition of Travel Books curated by David Fernández, Ksenya Kiebuzinski, and Elizabeth Ridolfo
Excellence in Content Print Catalog Category: The Morgan Library & Museum in New York, New York and DelMonico Books for Belle da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy edited by Erica Ciallela and Philip S. Palmer with contributions by Colin B. Bailey, Juliana Amorim Goskes, Araceli Bremauntz-Enriquez, Julia S. Charles-Linen, Rhonda Evans, Anne-Marie Eze, Daria Rose Foner, Jiemi Gao, Gail Levin, Deborah Parker, Deborah Willis, and Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty
Excellence in Description Print Catalog Category: Oak Knoll Press in New Castle, Delaware for Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished, and Fictive Works Found Only in Other Books by Reid Byers
Innovation in Audience Engagement Print Catalog Category: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, for Women on the Move: An Exhibition of Travel Books curated by David Fernández, Ksenya Kiebuzinski, and Elizabeth Ridolfo
Innovation in Design Print Catalog Category: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, Illinois, for "We Are Each Other's Harvest": Gwendolyn Brooks and the Formation of Black Literary Canon by Cait Coker, designed by Chloe Ottenhoff
Innovation in Inclusion and Representation Print Catalog Category: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, Illinois, for "We Are Each Other's Harvest": Gwendolyn Brooks and the Formation of Black Literary Canon by Cait Coker, designed by Chloe Ottenhoff
Innovation in Production Print Catalog Category: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, for Women on the Move: An Exhibition of Travel Books curated by David Fernández, Ksenya Kiebuzinski, and Elizabeth Ridolfo
Digital Catalog Awards
Best in Show Digital Catalog Category: Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for “Disembodied Reembodied” by Jenny Schmid, Emily Beck, Jaime Konerman-Sease, and Lois Hendrickson
Excellence in Content Digital Catalog Category: Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History in Atlanta, Georgia, for “Softness Was Always Ours: A Tender Tribute to Black Women and Girls” curated by Jami Adkins Murphy
Excellence in Description Digital Catalog Category: Oskar Diethelm Library, Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, New York for "Psychiatry, Insanity, and Religion in the Trial of Charles Guiteau" curated by Nick Brenner and Nicole Topich
Innovation in Audience Engagement Digital Catalog Category: Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History in Atlanta, Georgia, for “Softness Was Always Ours: A Tender Tribute to Black Women and Girls” curated by Jami Adkins Murphy
Innovation in Design Digital Catalog Category: Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for “Disembodied Reembodied” by Jenny Schmid, Emily Beck, Jaime Konerman-Sease, and Lois Hendrickson
Innovation in Inclusion and Representation Digital Catalog Category: Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for “Disembodied Reembodied” by Jenny Schmid, Emily Beck, Jaime Konerman-Sease, and Lois Hendrickson
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The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for academic libraries and library workers. Representing more than 8,000 individuals and libraries, ACRL (a division of the American Library Association) develops programs, products, and services to help those working in academic and research libraries learn, innovate, and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning, transforming scholarship, and creating diverse and inclusive communities. Find ACRL on the web, Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, and YouTube.