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Jackie Desoer, MLS
Jackie built an incredible career as an information professional, as a mentor, and as a leader in the SLA community. She?s a great example for the today?s students, having won an SLA Scholarship in 1961 and then embarking on 40 years of involvement in the Association. Her work at the Chevron Technical Library was highly regarded, both by the library?s staff and its clients. It was also recognized in James Matarazzo?s Corporate Library Excellence (SLA Publishing, 1990). She embraced opportunities to share her experiences with new information professionals and learn from younger entrants into the profession. Jackie is also an excellent example of leadership in action, having served in a variety of volunteer leadership positions at the chapter and division levels, and also on the SLA Board of Directors from 1980 to 1983. Together, these factors explain why Jackie Desoer is very deserving of induction into the SLA Hall of Fame.
JOHN COTTON DANA AWARD
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Judy has distinguished herself as a passionate and enthusiastic educator, mentor, and advocate for the information profession, all while serving SLA in a range of capacities. Her work on the LIS faculty at Wayne State University in Detroit has been exemplary, but only scratches the surface of her involvement in the profession. Prior to her time at Wayne State, Judy was a practitioner in corporate, government, academic, and public library settings for over 20 years. She has not only been actively involved in SLA for decades, she has also been an active participant in the American Library Association (ALA) and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), where she is currently secretary of the newly-formed Standing Committee on Knowledge Management. She is regularly invited to speak at international information conferences on topics ranging from library services to knowledge management. Judy?s deep commitment to SLA is clear in her résumé of volunteer efforts, having served on the Association?s Board of Directors three times -- reaching the pinnacle when she was elected to serve as the association?s president in 1997. Equally reflective of her SLA activity is the fact that she is a founding member of the SLA Leadership and Management Division. She is a Fellow of SLA, and has been recognized by her peers with her selection for the Rose L. Vormelker Award in 2001 and the SLA President?s Award in 2002. Judy has not only earned this award, she embodies the spirit of John Cotton Dana every day.
ROSE L. VORMELKER AWARD
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Barbara?s enthusiasm for the library and information profession is infectious. Through her work with students both in and outside the classroom, Barbara delivers exceptional service to the profession of special librarianship. Over the years, Barbara estimates that over 40 library/information science interns have passed through her library?s doors at Empire State Development in Albany, New York. As Adjunct Professor at the School of Information Science and Policy at the University at Albany for twelve years, she taught hundreds of students and served as faculty advisor to the program?s SLA Student Chapter. As a result, she has made a significant impact on the profession ? taking interns, training them in the practices of the profession and sending them out armed with the tools necessary to succeed. She instructs interns in the fundamentals of the profession, from acquisitions and circulation to cataloging, research, and records management. Barbara has embraced this role and gone further by also providing career support and guidance for the students? futures in the field. She has also served in several SLA leadership roles, including President of the Upstate New York Chapter and Chair of its Consultants Group. She is currently serving on SLA President Pam Rollo?s New Visions Task Force and is on the Board of Trustees of the Capital District (NY) Library Council. Barbara is often the catalyst to connect ideas with people and projects. She is truly committed to the profession - providing training, support, and encouragement not only to the interns at her library but to those she meets at programs and events throughout the year.
FELLOWS OF SLA
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Jan is considered to be a visible leader at the vanguard of the profession. Her strategic perspective and ability to communicate with her peers and the leadership at McDonald?s Corporation have made her a shining star in the information profession. Jan?s ascension in the SLA community likely began when she was selected as the 2000 recipient of the Factiva Leadership Award. From there, people took notice of her valuable insight and abilities. A member of SLA for 19 years, she has been an active leader in the SLA Business and Finance Division and the SLA Illinois Chapter, and currently serves on the SLA President?s Task Force on Professional Value. Look for Jan to do more great things in her career and through SLA.
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In her 7 years as a member of SLA, Sue has done so much to advance the Association in a strategically important venue: Australia and New Zealand. She is a founding member of the SLA chapter serving that region of the world, and took the honor of being its first president. But her work was not limited to establishing the chapter; she recruited prospective members ahead of its creation and continued that work beyond her presidency, convincing SLA Headquarters to invest in several membership recruitment opportunities in both nations. Because of her efforts on behalf of SLA, Sue has developed a reputation as a passionate leader, a driving force behind new ideas, and an ardent supporter of SLA and the global community of information professionals. Expect more from Sue in the future.
Marjorie Hlava
?Margie? is so well-known and respected among her SLA peers that she was nominated as a Fellow by six individual members! As president of Access Innovations, Margie has been a driving force behind the development of technologies and services for the library and information profession. A 30-year member, her deep roots in SLA and other organizations have contributed greatly to that cause. But her passion for the profession shines clearly through her record of service as a volunteer leader in SLA: president of the SLA Rio Grande Chapter; service on 8 SLA committees, some of them 2 or three times; service on the SLA Board of Directors twice; and a representative to two outside organizations for SLA. Margie exemplifies the spirit of commitment, dedication, and passion for the library and information profession. Her wisdom and insight should benefit SLA for years to come.
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Neil is a prime example of the growth of SLA into a truly international association. During his 12 years of membership in SLA, he has embraced a very visible role during a time when globalization has been a strategic priority. As an active leader in SLA Europe, Neil has served in a variety of capacities, including as President in 2003-2004. But he has also served the Association by working on the SLA Task Forces on Branding, Global Strategy, and Professional Value, and most recently on the SLA Nominating Committee. His ability to see the global possibilities and engage fellow members make him a valued leader in the community. Neil?s work in the corporate sector and now for the British Library give him the balanced perspective that is required for continued leadership in SLA.
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Whenever she?s been asked to serve, Juanita has always been there for SLA. Through her involvement in the Toronto Chapter, her service on the SLA Board of Directors, or through her work on two SLA conference planning committees ? most recently as Chair of SLA 2005 in Toronto ? Juanita?s energy, focus, and determination always shine through. Juanita has worked on various SLA committees, including her current role on the SLA Finance Committee. She?s also volunteered as a leader for the SLA Competitive Intelligence and Leadership & Management Divisions. But the best part about Juanita is that it?s always clear that she?s having fun through her involvement in SLA. Her intellect and her enthusiasm are an inspiration to her peers, and it seems only logical that Juanita be selected as a Fellow of SLA.
DIALOG AND THOMSON SCIENTIFIC PRESENT THE SLA PRESIDENT'S AWARD
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Lisl has been a member of SLA for 8 years, and has been involved in the SLA Museums, Arts, and Humanities Division, the Louisiana State University Student Chapter, and the Louisiana/Southern Mississippi Chapter. She is currently completing her tenure as president of that chapter. But Lisl is recognized for something quite apart from her professional experiences. In the horrific wake of Hurricane Katrina?s devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi, Lisl coordinated with the SLA Task Force on Natural Disasters to seek ways of communicating with members of her chapter. Specifically, she wanted to make sure everyone was safe and, if necessary, received assistance. Additionally, Lisl went further in her efforts to support her colleagues by providing housing and food for several members of her chapter in the weeks after Katrina hit New Orleans. Her selflessness and sense of obligation to others in her profession and community are what make Lisl an excellent choice for the SLA President?s Award.
SLA PROFESSIONAL AWARD, PRESENTED BY SPRINGER
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Pam was hired by Mercy Corps in 2001 on a two-year grant project. She was charged with developing a digital library to improve the accessibility of internal information for the organization's field personnel. Time zone differences around the world and sketchy internet access in remote places make it difficult for an international relief & development organization to get access to information quickly. In just nine months, she created an online library that is also regularly ported to DVD and distributed to Mercy Corps field offices. The library has grown to 3,500 documents and 3,800 photos; over 2 gigabytes of information were downloaded from it in one month recently. A year ago, representatives from seven major non-governmental organizations were granted money from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to look at ways they could improve their capacity to respond in emergency situations. The group recently identified Mercy Corps? Digital Library as a Best Practice across all their organizations. One of Mercy Corps? emergency workers said, ?Having things all in one place, not only helps our institutional memory but it really helps us move quickly in the field. The less time we spend searching for files or e-mailing people to get old proposals, the more time we have to do the life saving work or get some sleep every once in a while.? Pam has earned a great deal of satisfaction that these efforts help in emergency start-ups and gives her organization an edge. She is an integral part of the Organizational Learning Team and is starting to do research for new initiatives. Though she only joined SLA in 2001, she has already served as Oregon Chapter President. She is currently working with her third library intern and accepts volunteers whenever she can from a nearby MLS program.
HONORARY MEMBER OF SLA
Raymond Kurzweil, Ph.D.
Ray is an inventor, entrepreneur, author, and futurist. Called ?the restless genius? by The Wall Street Journal and ?the ultimate thinking machine? by Forbes, Kurzweil?s ideas on the future have been touted by his many fans, ranging from Bill Gates to Bill Clinton. MIT?s Marvin Minsky writes that ?with his brilliant descriptions of the coming connections of computers with immortality, Kurzweil clearly takes his place as a leading futurist of our time.? Ray was the principal developer of a range of technologies, including the first omni-font optical character recognition software, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first CCD flat-bed scanner, and the first commercially available speech recognition system. He received the National Medal of Technology in 1999, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002. Ray is widely published and speaks to groups on technology and artificial intelligence. He even addressed the 1993 SLA Annual Conference in Cincinnati.
FACTIVA LEADERSHIP AWARD
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Ilene?s selection for this award is quite unique. Her success story at InterContinental Hotels Group in Atlanta is a great example of the natural way in which librarians and information professionals can become strategically valuable to their organizations. Ilene?s adoption of the SLA Competencies for Information Professionals in the Twenty-first Century in her career was not by design, but by instinct. Her innate ability to understand and meet the strategic needs of her internal clients is uncanny. She led the effort to create the first information center at her company, and has also designed a digital library so that competitive intelligence and market research information can be accessed by employees quickly and easily. After three years, the system holds nearly 3,000 items. Ilene has made presentations to SLA events on her efforts to integrate these knowledge management systems in her organization. And she has fostered strong alliances with her organization?s leaders so that they inherently understand her value to them and to the company. Ilene is a lesson-in-action that information professionals should allow their instincts to flourish while aligning their practice with their organizations? strategies.
LEXISNEXIS INNOVATIONS IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD
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R. James King, MLS
James is the Chief Librarian at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the research facility for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Their mission is to provide research on materials, chemistry, atmospheric, oceanographic and aeronautical sciences to prevent an enemy from gaining superiority or surprise on the field of battle. James has overseen the evolution of the NRL information management strategy through an innovative mix of technologies:
- Creation of a fully searchable online system for the Laboratory?s researchers (nearly 3,000 titles, including current journals and conference proceedings) and over 60% of the entire 60,000 bound historical print journal volumes in his library.
- Focusing resources on the NRL digital archive (http://torpedo.nrl.navy.mil), a single point of access for scholarly information that offers full text search of journals, books, conference proceedings and technical reports from 15 publishers and over 7 million items.
- Usage has supported these efforts with an overall doubling of digital library usage since 2002, both through journal article downloads (100k to 200k) and through self-service online searches (200k to 400k).
- Created an innovative NRL Online Bibliography web-based service to capture the metadata and full content of all NRL-authored scholarly publications. To date, the system has captured nearly 60,000 NRL-authored publications (1970-present).
- Implement an XML-based web service API to create a reliable and automated search routine to download new records and update citation counts.
Combined, these advances have resulted in increased researcher productivity and have transformed the research process at NRL, making the NRL Digital Library a sought-after resource around the world. At the same time, internal efficiencies have allowed the library to reduce staffing by 25% and maintain 2002 budgetary levels in 2006. For all of these reasons, James is an excellent choice for the Innovations in Technology Award.
SLA MEMBER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
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A member of SLA for 12 years, Ann works at the offices of the European Commission Delegation to the United States in Washington, DC. She has served as an active member of the SLA Public Relations Committee and was the chair of the SLA President?s Task Force on Global Strategy. But her role in the SLA Social Sciences Division, where she served as chair in 2002-2003, is where her leadership has shined. Ann has been the driving force behind the SLA International Reception, which is hosted by the Division at the Association?s Annual Conference. While the conference itself has evolved to take on a truly international flavor, the International Reception was, for quite some time, the only SLA event that reflected a focus on globalization of the profession. We all have Ann to thank for maintaining focus on such a critical topic. For inspiring us all be think and act globally, Ann Sweeney is very deserving of this award.
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?A visionary information professional.? That is how one of Karen?s colleagues chose to characterize her. A 33-year member of SLA, Karen has a variety of impressive accomplishments to her credit. She?s been a leader and innovator in the use of technology in academic and corporate settings. She?s published on a wide range of topics in a variety of publications over her 40 years in the profession. She?s a globally recognized authority and speaker on knowledge management, particularly through her academic contributions to the field. Add to all this the fact that Karen ? in the latter years of her career ? chose to advance her education by earning a doctorate in human and organizational systems. What is most appreciated by her peers is that Karen does not embrace technology for the sake of technology; she does so for what it can do for people to make their lives more productive, enriched, and efficient. For all these reasons and more, Karen Takle Quinn has clearly advanced the cause of the profession among her peers and well beyond.
SLA DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AWARD, PRESENTED BY EBSCO
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Angela has been a member of SLA since 2002, but has already begun to take an active leadership role in the Association?s Cincinnati Chapter by serving as its current treasurer ? quite a responsibility for such a new member. But then, it seems that Angela believes in pursuing such roles in order to enhance her leadership skills. ?To whom much is given, much is required? is a quote she has used to describe the humble manner in which she approaches her role in SLA. Angela believes that her zeal for science-related librarianship and her desire to be a visible role model for minorities in SLA are a perfect blend for success. We agree.
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Mangala, a native of India, residing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama since 1995, received her MLIS from the University of Alabama in 2002. Soon after graduation, she was appointed at University of Alabama as a Reference Librarian in the Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering library. She?s been a member of SLA since 2002 and is a member of PAM division. Mangala is the president-elect of SLA Alabama chapter. She has not only adapted well as an information professional; but has also shown her uniqueness by serving as the UA Libraries Liaison to the international students and scholars on campus. She has conducted workshops on the service-related aspects of librarianship, published on international outreach at the university, and participated on statewide poster sessions on library and information science. Further, Mangala qualified for a grant from the University of Alabama Libraries Innovation Grant program to develop an undergraduate information literacy tutorial.
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Widharto Widharto, MLS
Widharto is a unique selection for this award. He has served as a practicing information professional at SEAMEO BIOTROP for over 25 years, advancing its impact across the organization and seeking the use of technology wherever possible. Widharto is also responsible for a partnership between SEAMEO BIOTROP and the University of Indonesia to develop training programs library management and staffing. He is widely published on information and library science matters, and speaks five languages, three fluently. He strongly believes that his membership in SLA is an opportunity to advance the cause of technological development for librarians and information professionals in the developing world.
THE H.W. WILSON AWARD
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From Left to Right: Dawn Aguero, MLIS; Brian Arsenault, MLIS; Amy Finley, MLS; Blair Monroe, MLIS; and Rebecca Augustyniak, MLS.
Rebecca, Amy, Dawn, Blair, and Brian work at the Center for Information, Training, and Evaluation Services at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Together they presented a paper at the SLA 2005 Annual Conference in Toronto, which was subsequently published in the September 2005 issue of Information Outlook. The paper focused on the design and development of effective business management systems, and the role of the information professional in these processes. The H.W. Wilson Award selection committee determined that the subject matter ? coupled with the fact that the article was based on a conference paper ? was so important to the value proposition of the profession that it?s authors should be honored as the recipients of the 2006 edition of this award.
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