The John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award , usually referred to as the John Cotton Dana Award , is an annual award given by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures, American Library Association for excellence in library public relations . It is named for John Cotton Dana , a Progressive Era librarian who strove to make libraries accessible to as many people as possible. This award has been given continuously since 1946 and is sponsored by EBSCO Information Services , the H.W. Wilson Foundation and the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Eight winners receive a $ 10,000 prize and a plaque. The award is considered to be the ALA's most prestigious honor.
27-479: The Special Libraries Association ( SLA ) is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions. The Special Libraries Association was founded in 1909 in the United States by a group of librarians working in specialized settings, led by John Cotton Dana , who served as
54-408: A library setting. They actively apply their specialized skills to support the information needs of their organizations. SLA members fill many non-traditional librarian roles such as corporate competitive intelligence analyst, researcher, or information specialist. Given the rapid adoption of information technologies for selecting, analyzing, managing, storing, and delivering information and knowledge,
81-963: A limited clientage." The SLA is now an international organization with members in over 75 countries and is organized by 55 regional Chapters. Additionally, the SLA also has a number of Divisions devoted to specific topic areas. Many Divisions also include Sections for sub-specialties. The current Divisions include: Academic; Biomedical & Life Sciences; Business & Finance; Chemistry; Competitive Intelligence; Education; Engineering; Environment & Resource Management; Food, Agriculture & Nutrition; Government Information; Information Technology; Insurance & Employee Benefits; Knowledge Management; Legal; Leadership & Management; Military Libraries; Museums, Arts & Humanities; News; Petroleum & Energy Resources; Pharmaceutical & Health Technology; Physics-Astronomy-Mathematics; Science-Technology; Social Science; Solo Librarians; Taxonomy; and Transportation. From
108-461: A profession or occupation in which the organisation maintains an oversight of the knowledge, skills, conduct and practice of that profession or occupation". The Quality Assurance Agency distinguishes between statutory bodies and regulators that "have powers mandated by Parliament to regulate a profession or group of professions and protect the use of professional titles" and professional bodies that "are independent membership organisations that oversee
135-632: Is responsible for the overall direction and management of the SLA and selects the organization's officers. The board of directors is led by a president who is elected for a one-year term. An executive director selected by the board oversees the day-to-day management and functions of SLA. SLA Welcomed Amy Lestition Burke, CAE, as its executive director in May 2016. Burke had been serving SLA as vice president of success since 1 March, when SLA entered into an agreement with association management company MCI USA (formerly Coulter Companies) to manage its operations. Each of
162-474: The public interest . In the United States, such an association is typically a nonprofit business league for tax purposes. In the UK, they may take a variety of legal forms. The roles of professional associations have been variously defined: "A group of people in a learned occupation who are entrusted with maintaining control or oversight of the legitimate practice of the occupation;" also a body acting "to safeguard
189-746: The Culture Programs, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia; Diane Frankel, Institute of Library and Museum Services; Marlene Chambers, Director, Publications, Denver Art Museum; Joel Bloom, Director, Franklin Institute Science Museum , Philadelphia, PA; three-time recipient Grant Kaiser, Calgary Public Library ; and Michael Spock, Director, Boston Children’s Museum . The award is open to all libraries. Previous winners have included public libraries , school libraries , special libraries , and academic libraries . Entry documents are available through EBSCO. Entries are judged on
216-716: The SLA Board of Directors are ineligible for designation as Fellows.) John Cotton Dana Award is the SLA's top honor and is awarded to an individual in recognition of a lifetime of achievement and exceptional service to the SLA. (This should not be confused with the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award , awarded by the American Library Association .) Presidential Citations are given to SLA members for important or notable contributions advancing
243-507: The SLA and its goal and objectives. James M. Matarazzo Rising Star Award is presented annually to up to five new SLA members who have been members for no more than five years and show exceptional promise of leadership and contribution to the association and profession. Nominees must meet at least one of the following criteria: Recipients receive complimentary registration for the SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in
270-464: The SLA's goal or objectives during the previous year. The Presidential Citations are given at the pleasure of the SLA President. Rose L. Vormelker Award is given to a mid-career SLA member who actively teaches or mentors students or working professionals. SLA Hall of Fame is presented to an SLA member near the end of their professional career in recognition of service and contributions to
297-841: The Wilson Publicity Honor Roll, a three-year plan sponsored by the H.W. Wilson Company and the ALA Public Relations Committee. The first Honor Roll recipients were named in 1940 and this inaugural class consisted of 52 libraries. The Honor Roll was awarded from 1940 to 1942. In 1942, at the ALA's Annual Conference in Milwaukee, the Public Relations Committee convinced the ALA Council that a new, permanent publicity award
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#1732772985104324-414: The activities of a particular profession and represent the interests of [their] members" and which "may offer registration or certification of unregulated occupations on a voluntary basis." Many professional bodies are involved in accrediting degrees, defining and examining the skills and competencies necessary to practice, and granting professional certifications to indicate that a person is qualified in
351-522: The association and the profession. Fellows are called upon and expected to advise the association's board of directors, prepare necessary documentation, and alert the membership to issues and trends warranting action. No more than five SLA members can be selected as a Fellow in any given year. Individuals receiving this honor are able to use the title Fellow of the Special Libraries Association. (Members who are currently serving on
378-435: The average SLA member might be performing a range of services and employing a diverse mix of skills related to, but not exclusive of, library science. In fact, it is likely a special librarian does not work in a library, but rather an information center or resource center. The SLA is governed by a board of directors who are elected by the membership according to the parameters set out in the SLA's bylaws. The board of directors
405-442: The first president of SLA from 1909 to 1911. In the years prior to SLA's founding Dana and other librarians saw an increasing demand for the types of materials that specialized libraries could provide, and recognized that as information professionals working in such settings responded to the demands of their jobs they were creating a new kind of librarianship. Also, many of them were working as professional librarians but largely without
432-501: The following award criteria: Several other awards are given out at the Chapter and Division level as well at the SLA Annual Conference. Professional association A professional association (also called a professional body , professional organization , or professional society ) is a group that usually seeks to further a particular profession , the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and
459-815: The leadership of E. J. Josey won the award in 1962 and 1964, for the Great Book Discussion Group and the Library Lecture Series, two programs which "attracted large numbers of whites into the Savannah State College campus for the first time". Previous recipients of the John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership include John H. Falk and Lynn Dierking, Oregon State University and the Institute for Learning Innovation; Marian Godfrey, Director of
486-590: The membership. SLA membership is open to any person or organization. Members pay annual dues to SLA and additional fees for any Chapter, Division, or Caucus memberships they wish to obtain. Members of SLA typically possess a master's degree in library or information science and may have an advanced degree in a related field such as law, medicine or engineering. While special libraries include law libraries , news libraries, corporate libraries, museum libraries, medical libraries , and transportation libraries , many information professionals today do not actually work in
513-462: The professional support enjoyed by other librarians and professionals. The group sought to address their common problems by banding together. Their goal, as stated in the first issue of Special Libraries , was to "unite in co-operation all small libraries throughout the country; financial, commercial, scientific, industrial; and special departments of state, college and general libraries; and, in fact, all libraries devoted to special purposes and serving
540-524: The public interest;" organizations which "represent the interest of the professional practitioners," and so "act to maintain their own privileged and powerful position as a controlling body." Professional associations are ill defined although often have commonality in purpose and activities. In the UK the Science Council defines a professional body as "an organisation with individual members practicing
567-545: The regional Chapters and topical Divisions of SLA also elects officers and conducts meetings in a similar fashion to SLA. Members are entitled to vote in board elections for each Chapter or Division in which they pay dues. Committees and Councils are established by the board of directors in order to coordinate its activities relating to achieving the goals and objectives of the association. SLA activities include conferences, professional education, networking, and advocacy. The SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO, usually held in
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#1732772985104594-578: The subject area. Many professional bodies also act as learned societies for the academic disciplines underlying their professions, such as the American Statistical Association . John Cotton Dana Award The John Cotton Dana Awards are presented at a reception hosted by EBSCO during the American Library Association's annual conference. The John Cotton Dana Award was created to replace
621-658: The summer, includes education programs, networking events, and information exhibits. The SLA 2017 Annual Conference took place in Phoenix. The SLA 2018 Annual Conference was held 9–13 June 2018, in Baltimore, Maryland. The SLA 2019 Annual Conference is scheduled to be held 13–18 June in Cleveland, Ohio. The SLA presents several awards, some on an annual basis. Fellowship in SLA is bestowed on active, mid-career SLA members in recognition of past, present and future service to
648-478: The term was too broad, focusing on a general type of collection rather than the work that the special librarian does. John Cotton Dana himself acknowledged the inadequacy of the name in the years following SLA's founding but noted the term was chosen by default as no other term would be as accurate yet encompassing. This debate continues today among organization members and official name changes were considered in 1982, 2003, and 2009 but they were eventually voted down by
675-449: The time of the founding of the SLA there has been some controversy surrounding the terminology used in the name Special Libraries Association. At the time of SLAs founding there was an almost immediate backlash against the term special library or special librarian. For some, the term was too specific in that it had been used on a limited basis to that time to define reference collections which were limited or narrow in some way. For others,
702-863: The year in which they receive the award. SLA Committee/Council/Unit Recognition Programs and SAAAC Merit Awards are presented by the SLA Student and Academic Affairs Advisory Council (SAAAC) in recognition of the active development and participation of student members through their involvement in SLA Student Group activities. Through these awards the SAAAC recognizes and honors SLA Student Groups whose outstanding leadership, innovative programming, or creative use of electronic resources contribute to increased membership and expanded professional development. SAAAC awards are made based on documented quantitative and qualitative evidence pertaining to one or more of
729-675: Was necessary. Implementation of this new award was held off until the end of World War II . Initially, two awards were presented: the John Cotton Dana Awards and the John Cotton Dana Special Awards. These two awards were combined into a single award beginning with the 1996 winners. The awards were streamlined to eliminate any misconceptions that the Special Award was a less significant honor. The Savannah State College Library under
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