SLA Partners with Factiva

SLA has announced that Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters Company, will serve as its exclusive "Knowledge Age Partner."

As the Knowledge Age Partner, Factiva has pledged support for specific SLA activities, such as SLA's Career Services the SLA conferences and exhibits web page; the SLA leadership web page; and the SLA membership resources web page.

Factiva will also be inducted into the John Cotton Dana Circle at SLA's 93rd Annual Conference in Los Angeles, CA, USA, in June 2002. Named in honor of SLA's founder, the John Cotton Dana Circle recognizes companies and individuals demonstrating extraordinary generosity and support of SLA and its members over a five-year period. Factiva will also continue to co-sponsor the International Special Librarians Day (ISLD) celebration.

"Factiva is committed to supporting learning and development opportunities for information professionals so we're excited to be working closely with the Special Libraries Association," said Anne Caputo, director of Factiva's Knowledge and Learning Programs. "For nearly a century, SLA has played a key role in the development of information professionals, leading them through times of transition in both the industry and the roles they play in their diverse organizations."

Nancy Stoddard, SLA Member, Dies

Nancy Stoddard, a 15-year member of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area Chapter of SLA, passed away July 10, 2001. Stoddard served as Chapter President in 1977-78.

Stoddard began her career as an assistant librarian with the Miami Herald in 1960. She went on to become the first librarian for Gannet's Today before settling at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1970. She started at the paper as an assistant research librarian in the reference department, but three years later she was promoted to chief librarian, where she managed the newspaper's transition from a paper filing system to an electronic library. She held this position until 1985. She later joined the Food section, where she worked until 1995.

Stoddard was also active in her community, serving in the St. Louis Chapters of The Dream Factory and Make-A-Wish Foundation. She was also a president of the American Legion Walter LePere Auxiliary Post 208 of Manchester, MO.

Southern California Chapter Announces Awards

The Southern California Chapter of SLA has announced its annual awards. John Shea received the Billie Conner Award, while Robert Powers (for his work on the chapter website), Ann Coppin (for Library of California reporting), David Cappoli (for UCLA Student Chapter Leadership), and Loran Bures (for the chapter bylaws revision) won Meritorious Service Awards.

Illinois Members Make News

Members of the Illinois Chapter of SLA have been making news lately.

Veronda Pitchford of the Chicago Library System and Mari Colello of the Chicago Tribune were among the librarians featured in a May American Libraries article. The story described how special libraries played a part in the CLS's Groundhog Job Shadow Day in February.

Uri Toch, the Corporate and Small Business Liaison at the Schaumburg Township District Library had an article in the March/April 2001 issue of Public Libraries. The article, titled "The Ying Yang of Customer Service," described many of the library's outreach services.

Lorri Zipperer of Medscape Inc. was elected director of the Biomedical and Life Services Division of SLA for 2001/2002. Zipperer also worked with her colleague Susan Cushman to complete editing Lessons in Patient Safety, a collection of essays and abstracted key articles relevant to patient safety.