By: Ryan Hedrick
Jacob “Jake” Nadal is this year’s recipient of the ILS Distinguished Alumni Award for his outstanding contribution to the field of Library Science.
Graduating from Indiana University in 2001 with a Master of Library Science, Nadal has gone on to have a career in preservation that has spanned more than two decades, culminating in his position as the Director for Preservation at the Library of Congress for the last six years. Previously, Nadal worked at a number of well-known institutions such as UCLA, the New York Public Library, and as the head of the E. Lingle Craig Preservation Laboratory at IU.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is awarded to IU ILS alums who have made considerable contributions to their place of work and/or society at large through Library or Information Science. Nadal said he recognizes that the award has a lot to do with the top notch organizations he has worked at in his field and the significant work he has been part of in the field of preservation, but he hopes winning this award speaks to his larger work ethic.
“I hope this award means something more fundamental, though, that my values and way of working has been successful, because that is something that matters in any position,” Nadal said.
Nadal noted that his education from IU played a big part in those values and career success, specifically the technological and innovative mindset he was able to cultivate during his time as a student. He sees being named a distinguished alumni as an extension of that education.
“I feel this award completes the circle of gaining an education at IU, and then having acknowledgement from the people best able to judge my work, that I was able to find the right way to apply that education and accomplish something meaningful. There’s nothing like recognition from your peers.”
Nadal will be receiving the award at a ceremony held at the DeVault Alumni Center from 12-2pm on June 16th. Any inquiries about the ceremony can be directed to luddydev@iu.edu