Four Receive SLA Presidential Citations
McLean, Va., 17 March 2020—Hal Kirkwood kicked off his term as 2019 president of the Special Libraries Association by attending SLA’s Leadership Symposium, where he heard from many attendees that SLA needed to “right-size” its structure to reduce the time and volume of work required of volunteers and improve the member experience. Eleven months later, as he was concluding his presidency, SLA’s Board of Directors approved the outlines of a restructuring initiative designed to meet those very objectives.
One of the board members who was instrumental in driving the restructuring process forward was Laura Walesby, head of the Gast Business Library at Michigan State University. In recognition of her efforts, Kirkwood presented her with an SLA Presidential Citation. The citation is Walesby’s second—she also received one from 2017 SLA President Dee Magnoni for her efforts in helping create a year-long set of training, conversation, and engagement opportunities.
Kirkwood also presented SLA Presidential Citations to the following SLA members:
- Jeff Bond, scholarly communication librarian and science research liaison at Texas Christian University, for his leadership and development of the SLA 2019 Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio;
- Emma Davidson, a special collections librarian at the New York Public Library, for her willingness to serve an additional year on the SLA Board of Directors to fill an unexpected vacancy; and
- Emma Adelman, SLA’s senior coordinator for leadership and learning, for her energy and attitude in keeping things running for the association in 2019.
Presidential citations are given to SLA members for notable or important contributions during the year that enhanced the association or furthered its goals and objectives.
“I know from my own experiences as a volunteer that SLA depends on dedicated, selfless members going above and beyond to support our association and profession,” Kirkwood said. “I cannot thank Laura, Jeff, Emma and Emma enough for their efforts last year, and I know they will continue to play vital roles in SLA going forward.”
About SLA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit international organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves information professionals in more than 60 countries and in a range of working environments, including business, academia and government agencies. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy and networking initiatives. For more information, visit sla.org.
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