The Charles Robert Long Award was founded to honor outstanding contribution and meritorious service to CBHL or to the field of botanical and horticultural libraries or literature.

The Award was established as a memorial to Bob Long who died in 1986 at the age of forty-nine.

The Charles Robert Long Award committee is a permanent CBHL committee, created by CBHL members at their 1987 annual meeting.

Bob was a member and a former president of CBHL, editor of the CBHL Plant Bibliography series, and was for many years on the staff of The New York Botanical Garden. At the time of Bob's death he was Assistant Vice President and Director of the Library and Plant Information Services at The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.

CBHL members, upon hearing of Bob Long's death, voted to create this Award in his honor. The Charles Robert Long Award of Extraordinary Merit was the first and is the highest individual honor the organization bestows. The Award is inspired by memories of Bob's commitment to professional development, his support of high library and bibliographic standards, his interest in the collaborative efforts of libraries, and his continued search for professionalism in librarianship.

Awardees

Recipients of the Charles Robert Long Award of Extraordinary Merit since it began are:

1. Elisabeth Woodburn, now deceased, was a botanical bookseller in Hopewell, New Jersey.
   A founder of CBHL, she received the award in 1988.

2. Ian MacPhail, retired librarian/curator, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, now lives in Gainesville, Florida.
   He received the award in March 1990 at the CBHL annual meeting hosted by the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

3. Richard Isaacson, Andersen Horticultural Library, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chanhassen, Minnesota, received the award from Solange Gignac, Denver Botanic Gardens librarian and Award committee chair, on May 22, 1992 at the CBHL annual meeting hosted by the Ohio State University Libraries in Columbus, Ohio.

4. Barbara Barton, Sebastopol, California, author of Gardening By Mail, received the award from 1994 CBHL president Gerard McKiernan, Iowa State University science librarian, on Friday evening, April 15, 1994 at the CBHL annual meeting hosted by Santa Barbara Botanical Garden in Santa Barbara, California.

5. John F. Reed, Director of the Library, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York received the award Friday evening, May 19,1995 in the Gingko Tearoom at The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois at the CBHL annual meeting. Joan DeFato, Los Angeles County Arboretum librarian & committee chair, presented the award.

6. Bernadette G. Callery, Museum Librarian, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, received the award in May 1997 from Anita Karg, Hunt Institute archivist & committee chair, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania prior to the CBHL annual meeting on June 5, 1997 in Montreal, Quebec.

7. Jayne T.MacLean, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, Maryland, was presented with the Award by Anita Karg, Hunt Institute archivist & committee chair, in Albuquerque, New Mexico at a CBHL business meeting on May 23, 1999.

8. Jane P. Gates, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, Maryland, received the Award on Friday, May 5, 2000 at the annual meeting banquet at the U.S.National Arboretum. It was presented by Connie Wolf, Missouri Botanical Garden librarian & committee chair.

9. Joan DeFato, Plant Sciences Librarian at The Arboretum of Los Angeles County, Arcadia, California, received the Award on Friday, April 12, 2002, at the annual meeting banquet at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. It was presented by Celine Arseneault, Montreal Botanical Garden librarian &acting CBHL 2002 president.
   [Press release]

10. Ruth F. Schallert, Botany/Horticulture Branch Librarian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., received the Award on Friday, June 13, 2003, at the annual meeting in New York City. It was presented by Marie Long, widow of Charles Robert Long, who is a librarian at LuEsther T.Mertz Library, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, N.Y.
    [Press release]

11. Stanley H. Johnston, Jr., Curator of Rare Books, Holden Arboretum, Kirtland, Ohio, received the Award on June 9, 2005, at the annual meeting in Pennsylvania. It was presented by Rita Hassert, chair of the Charles Robert Long Award Committee.
    [Press release]

12. Barbara M. Pitschel, Librarian, Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture of the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, San Francisco, California, received the Award at the annual meeting in California. It was presented by Doug Holland, CBHL president.
    [Press release]

Administration

The Award is administered by a permanent five member CBHL Committee of three appointed members and two ex-officio members. The three appointed members are always past presidents of CBHL, each appointed by a current president to serve a five year term which may be renewed. One ex-officio member of the committee is the current CBHL president who serves for only one year. The second ex-officio member is the permanent CBHL secretary. The secretary is responsible for maintaining the Committee records.

For contact and chairperson, please refer to the Committees Listing.

For list of members, refer to the CBHL Members Information Center.

Frequency

As this is an award of extraordinary merit, it is only awarded from time to time at the discretion of the committee.

Nature of the Award

The Award consists of an honorary life membership in CBHL, a framed certificate, and an appropriate monetary or material gift, or a donation to the recipient's favorite cause. Generally speaking, the committee strives to have such monies or material gifts be approximately equal for each award.

Submission Procedure

CBHL members are invited to suggest candidates as possible future awardees. Please send a letter or email note to committee chair, or to any of the other current members of the Charles Robert Long Award committee.