C. Herbert Finch Online Publication Award

Members of the Finding Aids Award Committee shall also be responsible for awarding the C. Herbert Finch Award honoring online publications.

The C. Herbert Finch Online Publication Award was established to honor the memory of C. Herbert Finch, former Assistant Director of Cornell University Libraries, who died on April 27, 2005.

Submission Guidelines for the C. Herbert Finch Award

The Finding Aids Award Committee will award a prize honoring online publications, including digital exhibitions, LibGuides, web sites and web pages devoted to the promotion and use of archival materials, created by individuals or institutions in the MARAC region.

The Finding Aids Award Committee will accept submissions or nominations for the C. Herbert Finch Award. (Note: An online publication that is primarily a finding aid is not eligible for the Finch Award but may be nominated for the Finding Aids Award. An article (e.g. blog post, journal article, newsletter, etc.) is also not eligible.)

Eligibility

To be eligible for the award, an online publication must have a stable internet address and must have been published within the last year (between January and December; see below for notes on 2026 eligibility)

Eligible submissions include, but are not limited to: 

  • Digital exhibitions
  • LibGuides
  • Research guides
  • Collection(s) portals
  • Digital archives

Ineligible submissions include, but are not limited to:

  • Blog posts
  • Journal articles
  • Newsletters

Evaluation

The Committee encourages the submission of entries that use a variety of media. Submissions are judged on content, navigability, usability, functionality, and site design.

Award

One award will be given with a maximum value of $250.00. Award to be announced annually at the fall business meeting.

Submission of entries

Submissions must be received by January 15, 2027.

Submissions should be sent via Google form. Each submission should include the URL and a one-to-two page nomination letter (not to exceed 500 words).

Submissions must be received by January 15, 2027.  As of 2026, the award schedule is changing! For 2026 submissions ONLY, please note that C. Herbert Finch Online Publication Award eligibility includes a period of 18 months (online publications between August 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026). 


Award Winners

2025
Kate Mitchell, Baruch College, CUNY
online exhibit: 
The End of an Era: The Impact of the 1975 New York City Financial Crisis at CUNY,

Honorable Mention: Nicole Topich and Nick Brenner, Oskar Diethelm Library, DeWitt Wallace Institute of Psychiatry: History, Policy, & the Arts, Weill Cornell Medical College
online exhibit 
Psychiatry, Insanity, and Religion in the Trial of Charles Guiteau


2024
No award given


2023
University of Pittsburgh Library System
website: August Wilson Archive


2022
Special Collections in Performing Arts at University of Maryland
online exhibit: "Persistent Vision: The D.C. Punk Collections at the University of Maryland"


2021
The Rosenbach
online exhibit: “I am an American!”: The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson


For the complete list of C. Herbert Finch Online Publication Award recipients, visit MARAC Master List of Achievement and Service Award Winners. Use tabs at the bottom of the workbook to navigate between awards.

Last updated June 2026