Alexandria, Virginia, September 25, 2012 – The Leadership and Management Division (LMD) of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) announces their 2012 award winners: Hope Tillman and Jane Dysart.

Hope Tillman, was announced as the winner of the Karen J. Switt Award. Hope is a role model and quiet leader who does not need or invite the spotlight.  Hope has worked tirelessly for the profession and SLA.  She is a valued contributor and leader.  Hope Tillman is a trail blazer for the profession who embraces information dissemination, and access and manipulation technologies since the creation of the Internet.  Over the last two years, she and Dee Magnoni worked jointly on building the foundation for LMD webinars.  The current success of the LMD webinars is partly due to this very strong infrastructure. Hope Tillman is a technologist, librarian, author, an early adapter and promoter/trainer of appropriate uses of technology – always embracing the new and leading edge. Hope is former President of Special Libraries Association, and an SLA Fellow. This year’s Karen J. Switt Award was generously sponsored by Basch Subscriptions.

Jane Dysart was honored with the LMD Distinguished Member Award. Jane has been and is a coach and mentor for many LMD members.  Her workshops and institutes focus on the expansion of existing leadership skills and the honing of creative critical thinking.  Jane continues to place an emphasis on the need to provide continuing and meaningful professional development for senior leadership.  Jane is a Principal of Dysart & Jones Associates (D&J), an internationally recognized leader in library and information service consulting which focuses on assisting libraries in the areas of information management, strategic and business planning, service design, organizational structuring and market positioning, conference planning, information audit, customized workshops, facilitation, and team and management coaching. Jane is former President of Special Libraries Association, a recipient of the SLA John Cotton Dana Award, and an SLA Fellow.

About LMD
The Leadership and Management Division (LMD) draws its members from across the many arenas in which SLA members work. Members represent a wide range of experience, from seasoned senior managers to new information professionals interested in leadership and management concepts. LMD offers its members specialized programming and continuing education opportunities and an assortment of professional resources.

About SLA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves about 11,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic, and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit us on the web at www.sla.org.

Karen J. Switt Leadership Award – 2011 Recipient – Patricia Cia

Presented at the LMD Annual Business Meeting & Tea, June 13, 2011 in Philadelphia

Dee Magnoni, LMD Chair with Patricia Cia. Photo by Jim Tchobanoff

As Co-Chairs of the Awards Committee for the Leadership & Management Division of Special Libraries Association, we are delighted to announce that Patricia Cia has been selected as the 2011 recipient of the Karen J. Switt Leadership Award.

Each year, the Leadership & Management Division honors a member who has shown outstanding leadership, served as a role model for others, and contributed significantly to SLA.  In 1999, the award was named in memory of Karen J. Switt, a much-admired and much-missed LMD member.

Those who have had the pleasure of working with Patricia appreciate her knowledge, dedication and reliability. She embodies the ideal described in the SLA “Competencies of an Information Professional.” Her leadership, technical skills, and pioneering of new technologies have benefited LMD and its members.

Patricia has exemplified the leadership qualities treasured in Karen J. Switt recipients. She has been very active in SLA as Chapter Cabinet Chair on the SLA Board of Directors, Leadership & Management Director, in various positions on the SLA Western Canada Board, and participated on at least one SLA committee, task force, advisory council, and the SLA Centennial Commission. Patricia was awarded SLA Fellow in 2007.

The Division wishes to thank C. Berger and Prenax Basch for their generous sponsorship of the award.

Stephen Kochoff and Carol Ginsburg , Awards Committee Co-Chairs
Leadership & Management Division, Special Libraries Association

Congratulations to Libby Trudell on receiving LMD's Karen J. Switt Award. Bill Fisher, Chair, presented Libby with the award during the 2010 LMD Annual Business Meeting & Tea.

Those nominating Libby had many examples of her leadership qualities including:

"Libby displays her leadership qualities by leading through example and
action, not by directing others. When asked, she says "yes" and quickly
moves through the process to form the team and create the tasks to get
the initiative completed—on time, on budget, and to the benefit of the
target audience. Libby builds collaborative environments, increasing
the power of the whole by drawing upon the contributions of the
individuals."

More information is available via the LMD Wiki.

Thank you to all those who took the time to participate in the awards nominations including Stephen Kochoff & Barbie Keiser, co-chairs, LMD Nominations Committee and C.Berger Group for sponsoring the award

 - Patricia Cia, Director, Leadership & Management Division

As co-chair with Stephen Kochoff of the LMD Awards Committee, I am delighted to announce that Deb Hunt was given the Leadership Award named in honor and memory of Karen J. Switt, sponsored by C. Berger Group, at LMD's annual business meeting during the recent conference.  Nominated by Susan Fifer Canby for her enthusiasm and energy in taking on leadership roles, Deb led SLA's "23 Things" project started in 2008 and received a Presidential Citation for it. Her track record as a local and SLA leader is a long and strong one, and Stephen and I were thrilled to present the award to Deb in person.  Cindy Shamel shared the photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20207746@N00/3660196055/

Congratulations indeed Deb, and of course we expect more from you in years to come!

Press Release June 2008

The SLA Leadership & Management Division announces two award winners for 2008

Karen J. Switt Award:

Each year since 1988, at the Annual SLA Conference in June, the Leadership & Management Division has honored one of the Division’s members with the Karen J. Switt Award in recognition of significant leadership in the information management profession during the previous five years.  Accomplishments must be in some aspect of library and information management, for example: visionary leadership, planning and strategy, information policy, technology, communication, marketing, public relations, human resources, finance or ethics. 

The 2008 Karen J. Switt Leadership Award winner in Cynthia (Cindy) Hill, Vice President of Outsell, Inc.  Cindy was nominated by her colleagues because she is viewed as a visionary leader of SLA for the 21st century.  Not only has she been a personable and dynamic President, Chapter Cabinet and SLA Board Member, but her work with Sun Systems really exemplifies what the library in the 21st century is evolving into.  She recently joined Outsell where she can leverage her knowledge across an even broader information spectrum.  This award is given by the Leadership & Management Division at the Division’s Annual Business Meeting and includes a check from the C. Berger Group, Inc.

LMD Member of the Year Award:

The LMD Member of the Year Award is given by the Leadership & Management Division to an outstanding Division member who has made notable service contributions to the Division over his or her career. 

The 2008 LMD Member of the Year is Gloria Dinerman, Founder & President, The Library Co-op of New York, NY. a position from which she has recently retired.  Gloria has been a long-time member of the Leadership & Management Division.  She was nominated by her colleagues because she has been able to share the hazards and happiness of her business experience, her love of libraries, and her communication skills in reaching a wide and diverse audience.  She has an extensive bibliography, often writing about the lighter side of the library profession.  The winner is also honored at the Leadership & Management Division’s Annual Business Meeting.