PATHFINDERS of the Information Odyssey - Special Libraries Assoc Awards and Honors Program

Information Outlook, June, 2001

"As SLA progresses into the next century, our members are clearly our most important asset. In order to promote their value in the workplace and in society, we must honor those in the profession who have taken great risk, challenged conventions, and made great strides in furthering their careers."

SLA Executive Director David R. Bender

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) Awards and Honors Program was created in 1948 to honor individuals for their achievements and contributions to the Association and the information profession. Each year since, SLA has provided opportunities for recognizing the best and brightest the information profession has to offer. This year, twenty-one unique individuals have been selected by the Association for their leadership, innovation and contributions to the profession and Association. Each winner will be honored at the 92nd Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, USA, June 9-14, 2001.

This June, SLA will honor retiring Executive Director, David R. Bender, Ph.D., with the John Cotton Dana Award. Named in honor of the founder of SLA, the award is conferred upon a member of SLA for exceptional service to special librarianship. Dr. Bender is recognized for his dedication to the profession and his longstanding achievements, spanning twenty-two years as executive director. Dr. Bender will officially retire July 31st, ending what is certainly one of the longest tenures at the helm of any organization.

Induction into the SLA Hall of Fame is granted to members of the Association at or near the end of an active professional career for an extended and sustained period of distinguished service to the Association in all spheres. This year's winners are: Judith Bernstein, who is retired from the Parish Memorial Business Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA; Roger K. Haley, who is retired from the United States Senate Library in Washington, DC, USA; and Fred W. Roper, Dean and Professor, College of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina, in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Each was selected for their longtime leadership roles and exceptional service and commitment to SLA.

The SLA President's Award is given annually to an SLA member who, during the previous year, has shown a commitment to the development of the Association as the premier organization for information professionals. This year, the award is conferred upon Susan O'Neill Johnson, Information Officer at The World Bank in Washington, DC, USA. Johnson is recognized for her efforts in the development of the SLA Global 2000 Fellowship program, which was created to facilitate participation in SLA's Global 2000 Conference by information professionals in developing nations.

The Factiva Leadership Award is presented to an SLA member who exemplifies leadership as a special librarian through excellence in personal and professional competencies. The winner of this year's award is Carol L. Ginsburg, Managing Director and Global Head of Business Information Services, Deutsche Bank AG, New York, USA. Ginsburg is recognized for her excellent leadership abilities and work ethic throughout her distinguished career as an outstanding practitioner, teacher, and manager. The Factiva Leadership Award is based on the acclaimed "Competencies for Special Librarians of the 21st Century," which can be found on the SLA Website at www.sla.org.

Fellows of the Special Libraries Association are called upon to advise the Association's Board of Directors, alert the membership to issues and trends warranting action, and are recognized as active SLA members with future leadership potential for the Association. The 2001 Fellows are: Cynthia V. Hill, Manager, Sun Microsystems Library, Palo Alto, California, USA; Sharyn J. Ladner, Assistant University Librarian for Public Service, University of Miami, Florida, USA; Joanne Gard Marshall, Dean and Professor, School of Library and Information Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA; Nigel Oxbrow, Chief Executive, TFLP, Ltd., London, England; and Ethel M. Salonen, Manager of Research Strategies, KPMG, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

SLA's Diversity Leadership Development Award recognizes in dividuals from multi-cultural backgrounds who display excellent leadership abilities in the profession and demonstrate a willingness to develop and strive for leadership opportunities within the Association. The year's winners are: Jacquelyn P. Cenacveira, Deputy Reference Manager, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, USA; Irene Cordova, Senior Librarian, Supportability Engineering Library, Bell Helicopter Textron, Ft. Worth, Texas, USA; Sandra A. Marshall, Marketing Information Manager, United Parcel Service, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and Jeanette M. Regan, Astronomy Librarian, Australian National University, Weston Creek, Australia. Each of these outstanding individuals will receive a $1,000 stipend for use in attending the SLA Annual Conference and will be mentored by a longstanding SLA member who has been selected based on his or her experience in the profession.