Library Educators Honored with Induction Into SLA Hall of Fame
Legendary SLA Members from Indiana University and
University of Maryland
Recognized for Lifetime of Achievement

Alexandria, Virginia, USA, 7 August 2007 - During its Annual Conference in Denver, the Special Libraries Association (SLA) inducted two of its distinguished members into the SLA Hall of Fame. Paul Wasserman, the founder of the Library School at University of Maryland University College Park, and Gary Wiggins, a professor at Indiana University and pioneer in the chemistry library community, were honored for their bodies of work and contributions to the field of librarianship and information management.

"Spots in the SLA Hall of Fame are reserved for members who have contributed a lifetime of service to the profession. These two pioneers in library education have had an enormous impact on so many of the professionals that are currently enjoying very successful careers in the field," said SLA Chief Executive Officer Janice R. Lachance. "I thank both Gary and Paul for their dedication to the future of the profession and congratulate them on receiving this great honor from their peers, it is well deserved."

The Hall of Fame award, presented to an SLA member in good standing at or near the end of an active professional career, recognizes significant service and contributions to the association and the profession. Only 124 individuals have been selected for the SLA Hall of Fame since its inception in 1959.

The 2007 Inductees into the SLA Hall of Fame:

Paul Wasserman
Paul Wasserman has been an SLA member for 57 years. He has instructed, inspired and mentored thousands of students throughout the many roles he has held at the University of Maryland (UMD). Wasserman founded the College of Information Studies at UMD in 1965 and then served as its first dean until 1970 and as a professor since 1970, motivating generations of special librarians entering the field.

"It is difficult to ignore his impact on our students, many of whom have become leaders in our field. He brought to the founding of our college emphases on the theoretical, the international, and the technological aspects of the field. His efforts were always designed to help raise information practitioners from working in an occupation to becoming true professionals," said William G. Wilson, a UMD colleague and retired librarian.

He has contributed classic reference works in the area of business administration and librarianship as a whole, including such titles as Statistics Sources [1st-28th eds., 1962-2005, now in two volumes], Consultants and Consulting Organizations, Commodity Price Sources, and the Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources.

Wasserman has been a very active member of SLA, serving as chair of the SLA Business Division, 1952 to 1953; editor and chair of the sources of commodity prices project, 1956 to 1960; member of the committee on standards, 1960 to 1962; and member of finance committee, 1960 to 1963.

He holds a bachelor of business administration from City College (now City College of the City University of New York), master's of science and economics degrees from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in library administration from the University of Michigan. He did postdoctoral study in data processing and information retrieval at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University).

Gary D. Wiggins
Gary Wiggins, an SLA member since 1976, is the director of the chemical informatics program and adjunct professor of informatics at Indiana University (IU).

Wiggins was the head of the Indiana university chemistry library for 27 years and the list owner of CHMINF-L (the Chemical Information Sources Discussion List), one of the longest running listservs in the world. He also maintains the Joint SLA/American Chemical Society Clearinghouse for Chemical Information Instructional Materials and a Web guide to Internet and other chemistry resources, CHEMINFO, Chemical Information Sources from Indiana University.

"Gary has excelled not only as a librarian but as a trailblazer and leader in the field of chemical informatics," said School of Informatics Dean J. Michael Dunn. "His induction into the SLA Hall of Fame is strong testament to his many contributions."

He is the author of the 1991 book Chemical Information Sources and its online successor "Chemical Information Sources Wiki" and numerous articles on science librarianship and information handling, He holds a bachelor of arts in chemistry and Russian, a master of arts in Slavic languages and literature, a master of library science, and a Ph.D. in library and information science.

About SLA
The Special Libraries Association is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves more than 11,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic, and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.sla.org.