Jones receives Ray Moore award for library science article
East Carolina University library science professor emeritus Dr. Al Jones has received the Ray Moore Award from the North Carolina Library Association.
“The Ray Moore Award was begun by Ray Moore, a member of the North Carolina Library Association to encourage librarians to write about and share their experiences in public libraries,” Jones said. “The mission of the award is to honor the best article on public librarianship published in North Carolina Libraries during the past biennium.”
Jones’ article, “The American Public Library as a Multicultural Force: A Half-Century of Federal Funding to Promote Multiculturalism in Public Libraries, 1956-2006,” was published in September 2022.
“I am honored to receive this award because my article met the criteria for the award and was selected by my peers, members of the Editorial Board of North Carolina Libraries, the journal of the NCLA,” he said.
Jones’ research interests lie within the history of libraries and genealogy and genealogical services.
“My main research interest is how have immigrants and libraries have interacted, especially since 1876, when the American Library Association was founded,” he said. “The federal government was relatively slow in helping libraries provide services to immigrants and minorities, but since federal funding of public libraries began in the mid-1950s the funding has been used effectively and efficiently by libraries to begin, improve, and enhance services to immigrants.”