George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award

The 2023 George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award Committee of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) welcomes submissions of notable art publications released by a North American publisher during 2023. This prestigious award is presented annually to publications demonstrating excellence in art publishing.

Established by ARLIS/NA in 1980, the award honors the memory of George Wittenborn (1905-1974), a premier New York art book dealer and publisher who was a strong supporter of ARLIS/NA in its formative years. One exemplary publication will be chosen to receive the George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award to be presented and announced at the annual ARLIS/NA conference.

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For more information, please contact Rebekah S. Boulton, Chair 2023 Wittenborn Awards Committee via email. 

Deadline: January 1, 2024

PAST WITTENBORN AWARD RECIPIENTS

Eligibility

Titles eligible for consideration include art books, exhibition catalogs, and new art periodical titles in any language, published in print or in digital format in 2023, and originating from a North American publisher. Publications submitted by international publishers with North American offices must have been authored or edited in North America.

Selection Criteria and Guidelines

The Wittenborn Committee will judge publishers' submissions for excellence in standards of content, documentation, format and layout. Titles may be evaluated on some or all of the following criteria:

Content:

  • Significance to the literature of the field
  • Originality
  • Scholarly excellence

Documentation:

  • Indication of contributors’ authority (institutional, academic or other relevant affiliations)
  • Indication of contributors’ authority (institutional, academic or other relevant affiliations)
  • Bibliographic data or Cataloging in Publication details, and additional context (exhibition locations and dates, etc.) if applicable
  • Indexes
  • Credits and acknowledgments
  • Lists of abbreviations
  • Concordances

Format and Layout:

  • Overall aesthetic quality and design of the publication
  • Legibility
  • Suitability of typography and composition to content
  • Image clarity and color fidelity
  • Quality of image details
  • Logical juxtaposition of text to illustrations

Additional Format and Layout Considerations for Print Publications:

  • Paper quality, weight, and opacity
  • Binding: durability; visual design suitable to content

Additional Format and Layout Considerations For Digital Publications (e-books, catalogs, journals):

  • Indication of currency or version, and plans for updating (where applicable)
  • Information architecture
  • Navigational elements and links to outside information
  • Quality and appropriateness of multimedia elements such as animation and video
  • Accessibility features (compatibility with screen readers, inclusion of alt-text for images).      

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For more information, please contact Rebekah S. Boulton, Chair 2023 Wittenborn Awards Committee via email. 

Shipping address
Rebekah S. Boulton / Wittenborn
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - Hirsch Library
1001 Bissonnet Street
Houston, TX 77005