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Crane librarian honored by SUNY trustees as Distinguished Faculty

Posted 11/29/18

In their announcement, the SUNY trustees said Edward Komara, a full librarian at The Crane School of Music, has achieved an international reputation for his work as a librarian and musicologist. A …

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Crane librarian honored by SUNY trustees as Distinguished Faculty

Posted

In their announcement, the SUNY trustees said Edward Komara, a full librarian at The Crane School of Music, has achieved an international reputation for his work as a librarian and musicologist.

A two-time inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame, Komara is the epitome of a scholar-librarian, having published six books, more than 23 articles and 121 reviews of sound recordings and books. Komara is able to write for both the scholar and the fan, as his many recognitions acknowledge.

He has thrice won the Association for Recorded Sound Collections' Award for Excellence in Historical Sound Research, in 2002 for his essay and discography in "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton," in 2007 for the two-volume "Encyclopedia of the Blues," and in 2014 for his coauthored book "100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own." This last book also won the Music Library Association's prestigious Vincent H. Duckles Award for best book-length bibliography.

He has served as a consultant on the blues for the American Folklore Society, the American Folklife Center and the U.S. Library of Congress.

His broad scholarship informs his management of the Julia E. Crane Memorial Library and service to its users.

Komara is also an adjunct instructor, teaching "Introduction to Music Bibliography" and "Mississippi Blues 1890-2000. " He also leads bibliographic instruction sessions and gives guest lectures to a wide range of classes.

He is the recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities and the Music Library Association's Richard S. Hill Award.

The Distinguished Librarian Professorship recognizes librarians whose contributions have been transformational in creating a new information environment by providing access to information, sharing or networking information resources, and fostering information literacy. In extending its "Distinguished" ranks to the library faculty, SUNY recognizes the accomplishments of all its faculty and assumes national leadership within the academy by becoming the first university system to so encourage and foster the full potential of the faculty status of librarians. The Distinguished Librarian rank honors and promotes the achievement of personal excellence, groundbreaking professional progress and wide-ranging benefit to the academic community. This rank parallels the Distinguished Professor rank in terms of expected level of accomplishment and the rarity in awarding the rank. The Distinguished Librarian rank is open to State-operated campuses of the State University of New York.

Komara was one of 14 educators statewide chosen by the SUNY trustees for the honor of being named to Distinguished Faculty Rank, and as members of the SUNY Distinguished Academy.

"The Board is honored to bestow these 14 exceptional academics, who come highly recommended by their peers and presidents, with SUNY's most revered ranking of distinction," said SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall. "Their dedication to the students, faculty and staff at their individual campuses as well as to advancing research and sharing knowledge within their fields is laudable. Congratulations to all honorees."

"The individuals joining SUNY's distinguished faculty exude academic excellence, commit themselves to being exemplary professionals inside and outside of the classroom, and relentlessly work to build on SUNY's prominence as a national leader in education and service," said SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson. "Their accomplishments range from producing groundbreaking research to helping students find their passion for learning, and ultimately, to succeeding in their careers. Thank you to all of today's honorees for their service to SUNY and congratulations."