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For his national and international contributions to research librarianship, University Chief Librarian Larry Alford has been honoured with  from the Canadian Association of Research Libraries.

“Larry leads the University of Toronto Libraries with skill, balancing tradition with innovation and transformation, leveraging an approach of evolution rather than revolution,” said Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada. “He is a leader that encourages risk taking, developing a culture of innovation and creativity.”

A former president of, Alford is a mentor and champion of the Toronto Academic Library interns program. He received the 2018 American Library Association’s Hugh Atkinson Memorial Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the School of Information and Library Science and SILS Alumni Association at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

At U of T, Alford has championed a wide range of innovative initiatives and new approaches to public service and outreach – and has invested in capital projects to improve the student experience through the revitalization of library spaces.

“I am deeply honoured to be the recipient of this award.” Alford said. “It has been a privilege to work with my extraordinary U of T and Canadian colleagues on issues that are critical to the future of research libraries, such as research data management, digital preservation, supporting new forms of digital scholarship, copyright transformation, open access, open data, open science, and preservation of our print collections.”