Kristen Mattel, 2024-2025 CBHL President

Kristen Mattel, Head Librarian & Curator, Andersen Horticultural Library, University of Minnesota Libraries / Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, is 2024-2025 CBHL president.

Kristine Paulus, Collection Development Librarian, LuEsther T. Mertz Library, New York
Botanical Garden, has been voted as 2024-2025 CBHL vice-president.

See all 2024-2025 board directors and contact information.

Winners announced for the 2024 Annual Literature Award

The 2024 CBHL Annual Literature Award for a work that makes a significant contribution to the literature of botany or horticulture goes to:

Maria Sibylla Merian: Changing the nature of art and science
by Bert Van de Roemer, Florence Pieters, Hans Mulder, Kay Etheridge, and Marieke van Delft. W. W. Norton & Company, Lannoo, 2022. 304 p : illustrations (some color). ISBN 9789401485333

All winners were announced during the Annual Meeting in East Lansing Michigan, May 7, 2024.

View all winners & nominees and press release

Annual Literature Nominees

The nominees for the 2024 CBHL Annual Literature Award are now available:

Kristen Mastel joins CBHL Board as VP

The CBHL Board unanimously approved Kristen Mastel to fill the vacant position of Office of Vice President. Kristen is the new Andersen Horticultural Library librarian at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Read more about Kristen in CBHL Newsletter, Issue 170, September 2023.

CBHL Virtual Roundtable: Session 1, CBHL 101

The first CBHL Virtual Roundtable discussion is next week on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 3pm Eastern/2pm Central/1pm Mountain/12pm Pacific/11am Alaska.

CBHL virtual roundtable discussions aim to be a knowledge sharing forum that allows for open conversation around specific topics. Are you new to your position? This is for you! Are you a long time member? This is for you too! Join the conversation, add your voice, and learn from your colleagues.

Robin Everly will moderate the topic CBHL 101 and she’ll do a deep dive into CBHL committees and how to join them, review of the website, membership directory, CBHL LibGuide and much more.

All are welcome to participate from new members, members who want a refresher, and all members to contribute to the conversation.

Zoom information: Please check the email information sent on September 6, 2023 or contact Donna Herendeen : [email protected]

Topic: CBHL Virtual Roundtable: Session 1, CBHL 101

Time: Check your time zone: 3pm Eastern/2pm Central/1pm Mountain/12pm Pacific/11am Alaska

Winners announced for the 2023 Annual Literature Award

The 2023 CBHL Annual Literature Award for a work that makes a significant contribution to the literature of botany or horticulture goes to:

Orchid Muse: a history of obsession in fifteen flowers
by Erica M. Hannickel. W. W. Norton & Company, 2022. xiv, 306 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm.

All winners were announced on a virtual award ceremony on May 5, 2023.

View all winners & nominees

Annual Meeting: Please read

The 55th Annual Meeting is changing to an all virtual meeting.

The need for CBHL to pivot has become clear. CBHL and its Annual Meeting need to be nimble in light of changing times. The goal of the Annual Meeting is to share ideas, provide a generative professional engagement experience, and foster a nexus of committed and supportive librarians coming together. We want the Annual Meeting to continue to be essential, accessible, and attractive to new and existing members alike. To that end, the CBHL Board and BRIT, the host institution, are moving to an all-virtual meeting.

The need to shift to a different format has become clear in the past several weeks, and registration for an all-virtual meeting will be offered at no cost to maximize participation. For those who have already registered, registration fees will be fully refunded.

CBHL is comprised of hundreds of librarians across North America and more who have been part of its inception, evolution, and growth. We are at a juncture in the life of CBHL that necessitates transformation. Join us virtually as we come together to thoughtfully engage and share perspectives as we envision the future for CBHL and its Annual Meeting.

The all-virtual 55th CBHL Annual Meeting hosted by BRIT will be held May 2 – May 4, 2023. Please register here at no cost. For details about the program, please consult the LibGuide.   

Thank you,

Ana Niño and the CBHL Board

Annual Literature Award Nominees

Please consult the current list of nominated titles for the 2023 Annual Literature Award.

Winner(s) will be announced during the Annual Meeting May 4, 2023.

Protected: Dear Judy

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Judith Ann Reed in memoriam

It is with the saddest heart that CBHL has heard of the loss of one of its dearest members, Judy Reed, age 86, who passed away on Tuesday, December 20, 2022.

Her husband John Reed has written a loving tribute in the 2023 March issue of the CBHL Newsletter.

The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries extends its deepest sympathies to John, their family and loved ones. 

Judy received the CBHL Charles Robert Long Award of Extraordinary Merit in 2021. Read press release

We are inviting CBHL members and friends who would like to share a souvenir or an anecdote as well as leaving We are inviting all members to share memories and anecdotes about Judy or forward a sympathy message to be addressed to John and their family on the following post on CBHL website (password protected, password sent by email):

Protected: Dear Judy