The American Association of Law Libraries has awarded UConn Law Associate Dean Darcy Kirk its highest honor, the Marian Gould Gallagher Distinguished Service Award.
The award honors sustained service to law librarianship, exemplary support to the association and outstanding contributions to professional literature. It is presented to individuals who have completed, or are nearing completion of, an active professional career.
Kirk serves UConn School of Law as associate dean for academic affairs, associate dean for library and technology, and distinguished professor of law.
“A recognized national expert in the field of legal information technology, Darcy Kirk is yet another example of the aspirations of our membership and an ideal recipient of the Gallagher Award,” said AALL President Femi Cadmus. “Her many titles, honors, and representative works are mere highlights of a career spent in service to legal information management and the advancement of law librarians throughout the country. We are grateful for Darcy’s excellent contributions as AALL past president, and we congratulate her on this award and a career well spent in service to others.”
A graduate of Vassar College, Simmons College (where she earned her MLS and MBA) and Boston College Law School, Kirk joined UConn Law in 1996.
“Earning this recognition for my contributions to the world of legal information management is a career highlight I did not expect,” Kirk said. “From my first days as a member of AALL, I began to learn and benefit from all the association had to offer. AALL has opened an endless number of doors for me and allowed me to work with many talented and creative law librarians who have become mentors, teachers, collaborators, and lifelong friends. I’m excited to see the wonderful things that lie ahead for AALL and to continue its important work as a Gallagher Award winner.”
“I am so very pleased that Darcy Kirk has been recognized for her outstanding work,” Dean Timothy Fisher said. “She has been our library director since the doors opened on our new law library in the 90’s. In the years since, she has built a terrific team and has created an incubator that trains leaders of law libraries around the country. Under Darcy’s leadership our library has served not only as the intellectual heart of the campus, but also its social and operational center as well, housing the Brown Family Campus Center and our One-Stop, Careers, Information Technology and Student Organization space. With her stellar leadership and vision, Darcy has become a national authority in the field. We congratulate her on receiving this highest award granted by the American Association of Law Librarians.”
In addition to Kirk, 2019 AALL Gallagher Award honorees are James S. Heller of the College of William and Mary, Kenneth J. Hirsh of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, and Jacquelyn J. Jurkins of the Multnomah Law Library. They will be recognized at the 112th AALL Annual Meeting and Conference in Washington, D.C., from July 13 to 16.
