SLA Illinois Chapter Connecting People and Information

by Katrina Perez, President of the SLA Illinois Chapter and Portal Content Coordinator, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

I'm writing this letter at the 2009 SLA Leadership Summit in Savannah, Georgia, escaping the negative temperatures in Chicago for 40+ and sun!  Getting away from the cold wasn't the only reason for heading south though, the Leadership Summit always offers a full schedule of useful programs and interesting speakers --this year's topic was "Align in 2009" focusing on the results of the Alignment Project (http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/alignment/) and SLA's Centennial (http://www.sla.org/centennial/) this year.

We have an eventful year ahead of us, but I would like to dedicate some space to those members who helped make our chapter shine in 2008, with a synopsis of our award winners, announced at our holiday party in December.

SLA Illinois Celebrates its Members
by Nancy Maloney, Electronic Resources - BP North America in Naperville 

The SLA Illinois Chapter ended 2008 with a festive holiday party and awards ceremony on December 3rd.   Members gathered at the Union League Club in Chicago to celebrate its members.  Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal sponsored a great gathering.

The awards portion of the evening began with the announcement of the SLA Leadership Summit Stipend.  It was awarded to Paty Schintgen of Bain & Company, based on a business case she submitted about the importance of professional development opportunities.  The stipend provided up to $1,000 to cover travel and conference expenses for the 2009 SLA Leadership Summit.

Suzanne Arist of the Communications Committee received the Author Award for her outstanding work on the chapter newsletter, the Informant, as well as other writing projects.  Suzanne is active not only in SLA, but also the Illinois Library Association, authoring many articles and profiles.

The Up and Coming Award was presented to Andrea Szabo Tillander, of Clausen Miller P.C.  Andrea has demonstrated her commitment to the chapter by commuting to meetings in Chicago while she finished her MLS program at Wayne State University in Detroit.  She is an active member of both the Awards and Communication Committees.

Christina Stoll of the Metropolitan Library System received both the Library Partner and Green Awareness Awards.  Christina has shown support for special libraries through promoting training, networking, and grant opportunities.  She is also committed to spreading awareness of legislative issues that affect our community.   The Green Awareness Award highlights Christina's efforts on behalf of the MLS Going Green Program which promotes environmental awareness in libraries of all types. 

The Web 2.0/ Innovation Leader Award was bestowed on Joyce Fedeczko of Library Associates at BP in Naperville.  Her embrace of new technology and championing of social networking was recognized.  She was a vital member of the SLA Innovation Laboratory, working the booth tirelessly at the convention in Seattle. She promotes experimenting by all library professionals, especially members who have a "few" years in the profession.

Penny Sympson, of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates of Northbrook received the Library Champion Award.  An advocate for special libraries, Penny approached the North Suburban Library System with an idea to promote special libraries with a public service video.  She developed the script and starred in a video, showing a corporate librarian in action.  The video brings home the message that librarians play an integral part in corporations.  View the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1d8Rx526NI. 

Donna Lenfest of Schiff Hardin LLP received the Outstanding Achievement Award for her longstanding support of SLA Illinois.  Whether handling behind the scenes details, welcoming new members or actively attending diverse events and workshops, Donna is committed to the profession and her colleagues in all phases of their careers and from all types of libraries.  She is always supportive of chapter projects large and small, through thick or thin.

Katrina Perez is President of the SLA Illinois Chapter and Portal Content Coordinator, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. Contact Katrina at katnpp@gmail.com.
Nancy Maloney is Electronic Resources - BP North America in Naperville. Her email is nancy.maloney@bp.com.