The CBHL Charles Robert Long Award of Extraordinary Merit was founded to honor outstanding contribution 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. 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.
The Charles Robert Long Award of Extraordinary Merit 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:
| Elisabeth Woodburn was a botanical bookseller in Hopewell, New Jersey. A founder of CBHL, she received the award in 1988. | |
 |
Ian MacPhail, retired librarian/curator at The Morton Arboretum Library, Lisle, Illinois received the award in March 1990 at the CBHL annual meeting hosted by the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. |
 |
Richard Isaacson, librarian at the 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. |
| 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. | |
 |
John F. Reed, Director of the Library, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York received the award May 19, 1995 at The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois during the CBHL annual meeting. Joan DeFato, Los Angeles County Arboretum librarian & committee chair, presented the award. |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
 |
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. |
| Joan DeFato, Plant Sciences Librarian at The Arboretum of Los Angeles County, Arcadia, California, received the Award on 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 president. | |
 |
Ruth F. Schallert, Botany/Horticulture Branch librarian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., received the Award on June 13, 2003, at the annual meeting in New York City. It was presented by Marie Long, widow of Charles Robert Long, librarian at LuEsther T.Mertz Library, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, N.Y. |
| 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. | |
| 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 on May 18, 2006, by Doug Holland, CBHL president. [About Barbara M. Pitschel] | |
| Charlotte A. Tancin, Librarian, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received the 2008 Award at the annual meeting in Michigan. [About Charlotte A. Tancin] | |
| David Lane, Biological Sciences Librarian, Biological Sciences Library, University of New Hampshire, received the 2011 Award at the annual meeting in Chicago. [About David Lane] | |
| Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) received the 2013 Award at the annual meeting in East Lansing, Michigan. [Press release (PDF)] | |
| Céline Arseneault, Botanist and Librarian, Montréal Botanical Garden Library, received the 2014 Award at the annual meeting in Richmond, Virginia. [Press release (PDF)] | |
| Sheila Connor, Horticultural Research Archivist (retired), Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, received the 2016 Award at the annual meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. [Press release (PDF)] | |
| Susan Fraser, Thomas J. Hubbard Vice President and Director, The LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden, received the 2018 Award during CBHL’s annual meeting hosted by the New York Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. [Press release (PDF)] | |
| Judy Reed, former Conservation Librarian, The LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden, received the 2021 Award during CBHL’s virtual annual meeting hosted by the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. [Press release (PDF)] | |
| Susan Eubank, Arboretum Librarian, Emeritus at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, received the 2022 during CBHL’s 54th Annual Meeting hosted by the Denver Botanic Gardens. [Press release (PDF)] |