Description

This PACSCL award honors the memory of Will Noel, former Board Chair whose vision, boldness, and warmth guided the organization through a transformational period. To carry forward Will’s commitment to open access, this award will be issued annually to recognize an achievement in increasing the physical and/or digital accessibility of Special Collections materials. PACSCL will publicize the awardee to the greater Archives and Special Collections community.

Winning projects need not be large or “splashy” but should represent a commitment of focus and resources that is meaningful for the institution. No institution, and no project, is too small or too large for consideration.

The awardee will be honored in the Special Collections community and will receive a small cash prize. In the spirit of Will’s insatiable appetite for hijinks and fun, the prize will also include a whimsical, shareable gift.

Learn more about the fabulous work done by the 2026 winners at https://pacscl.org/pacscl-awards-the-2026-noel-prize/.

Here are some examples of candidate projects:

• A collaborative, grant-funded project that digitizes a large number of material from multiple institutions and places them online for open access
• A backlog project in which current staff of a small institutions dedicate a portion of their time to “sprints” describing and/or processing “hidden collections” to order to make them available to the public for the first time
• A policy overhaul in which an institution changes its restrictions on access and/or use of its materials, such as deciding to stop charge reproduction fees

Eligibility and Application

Any US-based Special Collections Library or Archives is eligible to apply for this award. The project – or portion of project under evaluation – should have been completed within the past year. Nominations and self-nominations will be accepted.

Dates for 2026 Applications

Applications for the 2026 award are due March 15, 2026. The winner will be announced at PACSCL’s Annual General Meeting on May 6, 2026.

Questions? Please contact Beth Lander, PACSCL Managing Director, at director@pacscl.org