Teams, Individuals Honored with Presidential Citations
Alexandria, Virginia, 15 December 2015—Several committees and task forces, two consultants, and a longtime champion of cataloging standards are being honored for their service to SLA in 2015.
SLA President Jill Strand announced earlier this month that she will be presenting citations to these groups and individuals in the coming weeks. SLA 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.
The citations are being given to the following groups and individuals:
The Advocacy Task Force, which was charged with developing a toolkit to help SLA members communicate their impact to stakeholders in their organizations. The task force has created resources on five different topics—benchmarking, dealing with disengaged management, metrics, developing vision and mission statements, and storytelling—and is posting them to the SLA Website. The task force’s members are Chris Vestal (chair), Lois Ireland, Raymond Maxwell, Doug Newcomb, Toby Pearlstein, Stephen Phillips, Karen Reczek, Bethan Ruddock, and Carolyn Sosnowski.
The Committee on Association Governance, which was tasked with reviewing the charges of all SLA committees and councils and making recommendations to the board for any changes. Notwithstanding the broad scope of the assignment, the committee completed its task well before the end of the year. Committee members are Annette Haldeman (chair), Marilyn Bromley, Linda Broussard, Susan Fifer-Canby, Bethan Ruddock, Kama Siegel, and Kim Silk.
The Building Subcommittee, for its assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of putting the SLA headquarters building up for sale, selecting a realtor to manage the listing process and monitoring the realtor’s efforts, then concluding that it was in SLA’s best interests to take the building off the market and instead seek rental tenants. The subcommittee’s members are Kate Arnold (chair), Marilyn Bromley, Jill Hurst-Wahl, Natasha Kenner, Brent Mai, Doug Newcomb, and Carolyn Sosnowski.
The Bylaws Committee, for working with SLA’s attorneys to update the association’s bylaws to comply with recent changes in New York’s Not for Profit Corporation Law (SLA is chartered in New York). Committee members are Roberto Sarmiento (chair), Linda Broussard, Ranji Misra, Michael Moore, and Tom Rink.
The Competencies Task Force, for its efforts to update SLA’s Competencies for Information Professionals of the 21st Century, which was last updated in 2003. The task force hopes to release a draft document for member feedback early next year and submit a final document for board approval before the SLA 2016 Annual Conference. The task force’s members are David Shumaker and Cindy Hill (co-chairs), Anne Caputo, Rahn Huber, Jaye Lapachet, Jim Matarazzo, Doug Newcomb, Jan Sykes, and Carolyn Sosnowski.
The Finance Committee, which has helped SLA navigate financial challenges and ensure that the association remains on sound financial footing. The committee’s 2015 members are John DiGilio (chair), Linda Broussard, Leoma Dunn, Hal Kirkwood, Moy McIntosh, Bill Noorlander, Debbie Schachter, and Kim Walsh.
The Transition Committee, which has helped lay the groundwork for a new future for SLA. Early this year, the committee recommended hiring change consultants to review SLA’s current operations and envision how SLA might become more dynamic and proactive; a few months later, the committee recommended that SLA engage an association management company to oversee headquarters operations and provide targeted staff support to implement the changes proposed by the consultants. The past and current members of the committee are Tom Rink (chair), Paula Diaz, Bill Fisher, John DiGilio, Tara Murray, Bill Noorlander, Debbie Schachter, and Catherine Lavallee Welch.
The Volunteer Experience Task Force, which was charged with creating a member experience toolkit and coordinating with board members who are preparing a new virtual training series for unit leaders. The task force partnered with the SLA Leadership & Management Division this year to launch “Voices of the Information Profession,” a new Webinar series. The members of the task force are Dee Magnoni (chair), Geraldine Clement-Stoneham, Leia Dickerson, Martha Foote, Ruth Kneale, Doug Newcomb, and Valerie Perry.
Cindy Shamel and Ulla de Stricker, two SLA members who were hired by the SLA Board of Directors to kick-start the process of re-envisioning a new future for the association. During the first few months of 2015, they created a set of recommendations that initiated a conversation about what SLA is, how SLA does things, and what SLA might do differently. After the SLA 2015 Annual Conference, they worked with the board to develop a “Road Map for the Future of SLA” and an implementation plan with prioritized goals and objectives as well as ideas for engaging SLA members in the implementation process.
Dorothy McGarry, for her long and dedicated service to SLA and especially the SLA Cataloging Committee. A member of SLA since 1971, Dorothy is a recipient of SLA’s highest honor, the John Cotton Dana Award (1991), an SLA Fellow (1994), and a member of the SLA Hall of Fame (2000). All the while, she has been a champion of cataloging standards, and her energy and enthusiasm sustained the Cataloging Committee for many, many years. That committee is now evolving and taking on a new focus, making it appropriate to recognize Dorothy’s years of service on its behalf.
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.
Contact:
Stuart Hales
shales@sla.org
+1.703.647.4919
Any large business structure consists of several units, and local teams are formed in each department who are competing with each other. Spy app can play a key role in this struggle.
