UW’s Peter Receives LIRT Librarian Recognition Award

Sammy Peter, chair of Research and Instruction at University of Wyoming Libraries, is the 2024 recipient of the Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) Librarian Recognition Award for her contributions as an instructional design librarian.

LIRT was established in 1977 by the American Library Association (ALA) to bring together librarians who provide library instruction across all library types -- academic, public, school and special. The Librarian Recognition Award has been awarded for 11 years. Peter will be recognized at ALA's annual conference in June.

The award honors librarians who contribute to the development, advancement and support of information literacy and instruction. It is given based on any of the following criteria: contributions to library literature on topics related to instruction/information literacy; key role in the creation of an instruction/information literacy program or project that has shown potential for widespread sharing and replication; or impactful participation within local, regional, national or international-level professional organizations that are devoted to the support and promotion of library instruction and information literacy in any type of library.

"Peter has been active in service to the profession, focusing her work in this area on her passion for making libraries more accessible to our patrons and colleagues. She has served as an editor for the Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education and as a member of the Society of American Archivists Task Force on Revising the Best Practices of Accessibility. The awards committee was most impressed by her dedication -- as evidenced by her work experience, research and service -- to creating more open, inclusive and accessible spaces for all library patrons," notes the LIRT Awards Committee.

Peter joined UW Libraries in 2018. In 2022, she was appointed chair of Research and Instruction. In her role, she supervises six library faculty members and manages information literacy at UW. Throughout her career, Peter has championed universal design for teaching and learning, implementing its principles in her instruction and educating fellow librarians and faculty members on integrating universal design into their teaching methodologies.