Rhonda Taylor, associate professor of library science at the University of Oklahoma, was attending the annual Teaching Scholars Initiative at OU, a one-day seminar developed to improve teaching skills, when she noticed that all of her colleagues from the School of Library and Information Studies were sitting at her lunch table. Much to her surprise, Paul Bell, dean of the OU College of Arts and Sciences, announced that she was the 2011 Longmire Prize recipient to all in attendance.

Taylor received the award in recognition of her outstanding teaching and her devotion to sharing effective teaching skills with other instructors at OU as a teacher for graduate classes in information and knowledge management. Her area of specialty is multicultural librarianship, particularly services for American Indian populations and at-risk groups. She also has been active in setting up and improving distance learning to help train teachers and librarians locally, regionally and nationally.

The Longmire Prize was created to honor the late William and Jane Longmire and is awarded to a faculty member who is active in learning more about teaching and sharing that knowledge with others. Recipients receive $1,500 and their name is inscribed on a plaque in Ellison Hall, home to the OU College of Arts and Sciences.