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Madison - Dakota State University Professor and Public Services Librarian Risë Smith was honored as Librarian of the Year by the South Dakota Library Association at their annual conference in Spearfish on October 7.

The Librarian of the Year award recognizes a member of the SD Library Association who has made an outstanding contribution to affect and improve library service in a SD community. The winner must have been active in the library profession in SD for no less than 10 years and have shown evidence of personal and professional achievement, innovation and creativity. Nominees are also judged on their contributions and participation in the library profession and related fields. They must have focused attention on the status of the librarian in the community, and promoted cooperation between types of libraries and their librarians. Winners also must actively participate in local affairs.

"I am so honored to have received this award. Librarians across South Dakota work very hard to bring good library services to their communities, so I am very honored to have had my work singled out for recognition in this way," Smith commented.

Smith, who celebrates 20 years of service with Dakota State October 22, has been instrumental in raising the level of information literacy in the state of South Dakota. In her instructional duties at DSU, she teaches students to access and evaluate information both properly and ethically. Through her combined efforts with other librarians and educators across the state, a higher standard of information literacy has been established for all six state universities.

Since 2002, Risë has been involved in a project to create an online library catalog for the state. The catalog, which will be available by November, is known as ALEPH and will provide library patrons with information on each item searched in a more user friendly environment. Risë also collaborated with Madison Public librarian Nancy Sabbe and DSU professor Donna Hazelwood in creating an annual documentary film series for the Madison community.