In Remembrance of Ann Koopman: Mentor, Leader and Friend

koopmanann_144x144It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Ann Koopman, an SLA Board member and dear friend and mentor to so many. Ann died on 20 December 2013 from complications relating to pulmonary hypertension. SLA leadership, members, and staff throughout our association will greatly miss Ann’s energetic spirit, passionate leadership, and warm heart. Her dedication and consummate professionalism in the face of adversity will long be remembered.

Ann was an active leader of SLA as our division cabinet chair, an integral position on SLA’s Board of Directors. She had most recently worked on a few key association initiatives, including ably and diplomatically moderating discussions, both in-person and virtual, about the desire for a discussion about the association’s name. She provided vision, context, and expert institutional knowledge to fellow board members about our unit structure. She also drafted best practices for conducting Joint Cabinet meetings to be in line with our bylaws and current business practices.

Her home SLA chapter was Philadelphia, and she was also a member of the Academic, Biomedical & Life Sciences, and Science-Technology Divisions of SLA, among others. In the final year of her life, aside from being an SLA board member, she contributed as a board liaison to the Public Policy and Online Content Advisory Councils as well as the Committee on Association Governance.

We extend our deepest condolences to her family and her many friends.

In lieu of flowers, Ann’s family requests gifts be made to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, Special Libraries Association, or to Save the Children.

Below is Ann’s obituary as it was posted to her Facebook page.

Ann Koopman of Broomall, Penn., died Friday, December 20th from complications relating to pulmonary hypertension. Ann was a librarian and active member of both library and community organizations , and at the time of her death she was a member of the board of directors of the Special Libraries Association, an international organization for information professionals with more than 9000 members in 75 countries. She was also active in the League of Women Voters in New Jersey, receiving the Distinguished Service Award in 2007 for her work as budget director of the state organization and as president of the Camden County chapter. Prior to going on disability in 2012, she had been a librarian at the Scott Memorial Library at Thomas Jefferson University where she held a number of positions relating to electronic services and digital collections since her appointment in 1995.

Ann was a 1974 graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and received a master’s degree from the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago in 1981. She worked as a science and engineering librarian at Indiana University – Purdue University at Indianapolis in the 1980s and early 1990s. While in Indianapolis, she was active in the Indiana League of Women Voters and was president of the Indiana Pro-Choice Action League.

She is survived by her husband, Eric Pumroy, and her two daughters, Rachel Pumroy and Ruth Anne Pumroy, and her son-in-law, Adam Schaible. Memorial services will be held in January. The family requests that instead of sending flowers, that gifts be made in her honor to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, to the Special Libraries Association, or to Save the Children.

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