ARLIS/NA Canada

The Melva J. Dwyer Award

The Melva J. Dwyer Award was established in recognition of the contribution made to the field of art librarianship by Melva Dwyer, former head of the Fine Arts Library, University of British Columbia. It is given to the creators of exceptional reference or research tools relating to Canadian art and architecture.

The award is adjudicated by a jury of three Canadian art information professionals and administered by the Canadian Liaison to the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA).

Call for Nominations

The 2027 award will be announced and presented at the Convocation and Awards Ceremony at the 55th annual ARLIS/NA Conference in Portland, Oregon, April 4-7, 2027.

Criteria

  • The title must relate to Canadian art and/or architecture, be produced by Canadian authors and be disseminated by Canadian sources.
  • The format of the reference or research tool can vary: print, electronic, multimedia or other vehicles will be considered.
  • The date of publication or release should be within the last two years of the date of nomination.
  • Monographs, exhibition catalogues, and periodical articles will be considered if the scope and quality of the bibliographic information or the arrangement of the main text merits recognition as a major reference or research tool.

Nomination Procedures

  • Nominations must be received by December 31, 2025. Each nomination should include full bibliographic information and a written justification assessing the importance of the work to the discipline.
  • Please complete this form to submit a nomination (maximum 3 nominations per publisher).
  • Please do not send review copies until contacted.
  • Questions should be directed to Gwen Mayhew, ARLIS/NA Canadian Liaison, canadian_liaison@arlis.org.

Melva Dwyer, Head of UBC Library’s Fine Arts Division
Melva Dwyer, Head of UBC Library’s Fine Arts Division
Photo by Jim Banham, June 30, 1984. UBC Archives Photograph Collection
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0146705

Melva J. Dwyer

With a diploma in piano and a master’s degree in history, Melva J. Dwyer (October 29, 1919 – November 13, 2017) joined the University of British Columbia Library after completing her MLIS at the University of Toronto. Dwyer quickly set to work building the first major art library in western Canada, relying on her expertise and helped considerably by a large monetary donation. In 1967, she became the first chair of CARLIS, the Canadian Art Libraries Section of the Canadian Association of Special Libraries and Information Services Division. This group later migrated to ARLIS/NA to become the Canadian Chapter. Throughout her career, Dwyer was active in ARLIS and IFLA, and traveled extensively to further develop connections with colleagues and book dealers. She retired from the University of British Columbia in 1984.