SLA Europe has announced the winners of the 2013 Europe Early Career Conference Awards. The ECCAs are sponsored jointly with the Business & Finance, Leadership & Management, Legal, and Pharmaceutical & Health Technology Divisions of SLA to provide valuable opportunities for new professionals to develop and establish themselves within their chosen sector.

Congratulations to the winners, who will attend the SLA Conference & INFO-EXPO in San Diego from 9th-11th June 2013: Penny Andrews, Lizzie Caperon, Lauren Lawler, and Laura Williams!

Lauren Lawler is co-sponsored by the Legal Division (supported by Jones McClure). She is the Assistant Knowledge Services Manager at A&L Goodbody Solicitors in Dublin. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from University College Dublin, and a postgraduate diploma in Public Relations from the Fitzwilliam Institute.

Announcing the winners, SLA Europe President Stephen Phillips said:

“I would like to congratulate Penny, Lizzie, Lauren, and Laura on being selected for our prestigious Early Career Conference Award. With over 30 applications for the four awards, this year’s judging has been very challenging.  For the lucky winners, this award gives them an amazing opportunity to enhance their careers and invest in their future professional development by attending conference and building a network throughout SLA. 

On behalf of SLA Europe and the divisional sponsors, I would like to thank everyone that applied. I would like to extend my thanks to the judges who gave their time to evaluate all the entries. Finally, I would like to thank Lyndsay Rees-Jones and Simon Barron, co-chairs of the SLA Europe Awards Committee. They have done a fantastic job to coordinate and deliver the whole programme. Without their hard work and dedication, none of this would be possible.

I look forward to meeting all the ECCA winners at the SLA Conference in San Diego in June 2013.  I also hope they will help make SLA Europe an even more vibrant community, by becoming involved in our activities in the coming weeks and months.”

Additional information about the other award recipients is available at SLA Europe’s website.

On behalf of the Legal Division, it is with great pleasure to announce the recipients of our 2013 travel grants to the San Diego conference!

• Thomson Reuters Westlaw U.S. Law Librarian New Member Grant – Sonya M. Durney, Business and Government Team Leader at the Portland Public Library in Portland, Maine. Sonya is a member of the New England Chapter.

Sonya Durney is the Business and Government Team Leader at the Portland Public Library in Portland, Maine. She moved to Maine from Boston after completing her MLS at Simmons College in 2010. She currently serves as the Employment Chair for SLA New England. With SLA San Diego being her first conference, she looks forward to networking and learning as much as possible. She also hopes to sneak in a surf session in the warm California water!

• LexisNexis U.S. Law Librarian Veteran Member Grant – Jeffrey M. Nelson, Research Services Manager at Squire Sanders (US) LLP in Miami, Florida. Jeff is a member of the Florida & Caribbean Chapter.

Jeffrey Nelson is the Research Services Manager at the Miami office of Squire Sanders LLP. After accepting his current position less than a year ago, Jeffrey relocated to South Florida from Washington, DC where he had worked in law firms for five years. He currently serves as the South Florida Regional Contact for the SLA Florida & Caribbean Chapter. As a conference first-timer, Jeffrey is looking forward to meeting other SLA members and hopes to gain innovative ideas to share with colleagues at his place of work and in his local library community.

• Non-U.S. Law Librarian Grant – Samuel H. Wiggins, Information Officer at Norton Rose LLP in London, England. Sam is a member of the Europe Chapter.

Sam Wiggins is an Information Officer at Norton Rose LLP in London. Prior to taking up his current role, Sam completed his MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield.  He currently serves as the SLA Europe Chapter’s Events Chair, sits on the Chapter’s board, and is the Legal Division’s Ethics Ambassador. Sam also helps to run #uklibchat, a monthly twitter discussion tackling current issues affecting the library and information community. Sam hopes to both bring a UK perspective to the conference, as well as learn about solutions to problems affecting the information industry from North American and international delegates. Sam regularly blogs and tweets in a personal capacity on his thoughts about the issues facing information professionals.

We have a great many extraordinary SLA members, which makes the judges’ job very difficult.

Special thanks to Grants Committee members Jessica King (Pacific Northwest Chapter), Dagfinn Senturia (Rocky Mountain Chapter) and Past Chair Tracy Z. Maleeff (Philadelphia Chapter) for their work on this year’s awards.

Please join me in congratulating our 2013 recipients.

See you in San Diego!

Tricia Thomas
SLA Legal Division Chair

On behalf of the Legal Division, I would like to congratulate Joan Thomas, Samuel Wiggins, and Marilyn Bromley as winners of the Legal Division’s 2013 awards for innovation, new member contribution, and career achievement, respectively.

• Joan Thomas, Technology & Library Systems Senior Manager at Bryan Cave LLP in Kansas City, Missouri, is the 2013 winner of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Innovations in Law Librarianship Award.   She was selected because she has demonstrated innovation and creativity in solving problems or improving resources, programs, services, or operations for law library professionals and the clients they serve. The award is generously supported by Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.

• Samuel H. Wiggins, Information Officer at Norton Rose LLP in London, England, is the 2013 winner of the Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA Outstanding New Member Contribution Award.  He was selected because he is in the early stages of his career and he has already made significant contributions to the SLA Legal Division.  Sam has shown outstanding potential for continued service and leadership within the Division and the profession. The award is generously supported by Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA.

• Marilyn Bromley, Library Director at Bloomberg BNA in Arlington, Virginia, is the 2013 winner of the Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement.  She was selected because she has provided significant service to the SLA Legal Division. The award is generously supported by Thomson Reuters Westlaw.

Please join me in congratulating Joan, Samuel and Marilyn.  They are all so deserving.  All three winners will be presented with their awards at the Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA Breakfast and Legal Division Business Meeting during the annual conference in San Diego on Monday, June 10, 2013.

Additionally, I want to thank Sarah Mauldin, our Awards Committee Chair, for her work on this year’s awards.

See you in San Diego!

Tricia Thomas
SLA Legal Division Chair

SLA’s Legal Division will begin giving three awards this year.

Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 pm Eastern on March 1, 2013. Self nomination is acceptable and encouraged. Please find descriptions below.

Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement

The Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement is designed to recognize a member who has provided significant service to the SLA Legal Division. The award includes an engraved keepsake and small monetary award, generously provided by Thomson Reuters Westlaw. Download the award description and nomination form (fillable PDF).

Selection Criteria

• The nominee must be a member in good standing of the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must have been a member of the SLA Legal Division for at least five years
• The nominee must not have previously received the Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement
• The nominee must have provided special service to the SLA Legal Division or have a record of sustained service
• The nominee must not be a current or immediate past officer of the SLA Legal Division

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Innovations in Law Librarianship Award

The Innovations in Law Librarianship award is designed to recognize a member of the SLA Legal Division who demonstrates innovation and creativity in solving problems or improving resources, programs, services, or operations for law library professionals and the clients they serve. The award includes an appropriate engraved keepsake and is generously supported by Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. Download the award description and nomination form (fillable PDF).

Selection Criteria

• The nominee must be a member in good standing of the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must not have previously received the Innovations in Law Librarianship Award
• The nominee must have demonstrated innovation and creativity in solving problems or improved resources, programs, services, or operations for law library professionals and the clients they serve

Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA Outstanding New Member Contribution Award

The Outstanding New Member Contribution award is designed to recognize a member in the early stages of his/her career who has already made significant contributions to the SLA Legal Division and shows outstanding potential for continued service and leadership within the Division and the profession. The award includes an engraved keepsake and a small monetary award and is generously supported by Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA. Download the award description and nomination form (fillable PDF).

Selection Criteria

• The nominee must be a member in good standing of the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must be in the first 10 years of his/her law library career
• The nominee must not have previously received the Outstanding New Member Contribution Award
• The nominee must have made significant contributions to the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must show outstanding potential for continued service and leadership within the SLA Legal Division and the profession
• The nominee may not be presently serving on the Legal Division Board and must have been off the Board for at least one (1) year to be eligible

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Sarah Mauldin.

The Legal Division of the Special Libraries Association is offering three travel grants to attend the 2013 SLA Annual Conference & INFO-EXPO in San Diego, California from June 9 – 11, 2013. The deadline for applications is March 8, 2013.

The grant is intended to defray actual expenses but may not be sufficient to meet all expenses of attending the conference. The applicant is advised to plan and budget accordingly. The applicant must be a current member of SLA and the Legal Division, and meet the specific membership length requirements as listed for each award. Current Legal Division Executive Board members are not eligible to apply.

Only actual eligible expenses up to and not exceeding the grant amount will be reimbursed.  Please see the list of reimbursable and non-reimbursable conference expenses listed in this application. Membership will be verified with SLA headquarters. Expenses will be reimbursed to the winner after the conference ends, provided that the obligations and agreements outlined below have been satisfied to the Chair’s approval. SLA Legal Division reserves the right to deny reimbursement of expenses for failure to comply with the conditions stated herein. SLA Legal Division also reserves the right to not issue a travel grant award if there are no applicants or unsatisfactory applications, as determined by the Chair.

The 2013 SLA Legal Division travel grants:

• Thomson Reuters Westlaw U.S. Law Librarian New Member

(Legal Division member for a minimum of 12 months, not exceeding 24 months at the time of application) – USD $1,500

• LexisNexis U.S. Law Librarian Veteran Member

(Legal Division member 24 months or longer) – USD $1,500

• Non-U.S. Law Librarian

(Legal Division member for a minimum of 12 months at the time of application. Must live and work outside of the U.S. and not be a U.S. citizen.) – USD $3,000

The applicant must be a current member of SLA and of the Legal Division. Current Legal Division Executive Board members are not eligible.  Past Executive Board members may apply for travel grants one year after his or her term ended.  Past travel grant winners may apply for another award after five years have passed since his or her last bursary award. Recipients of the SLA Europe Chapter’s ECCA grant may apply for the Legal Division’s Non-U.S. award one year after receiving that bursary.

See the application for full information and details.

For further information please contact:

Tracy Z. Maleeff
SLA Legal Division Grants Committee Chair
Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone (215) 979-1726 / Fax (215) 979-1020
E-mail: TZMaleeff@duanemorris.com

In May of this year, the Legal Division’s Student Relations Committee launched a contest for people currently enrolled in library school.  This essay contest asked the question, “Why do you want to be a law librarian/legal information professional?”  We received many stellar responses, but only ten could be chosen as the recipients of a one-year SLA student-level membership.

Please join me in congratulating and welcoming the newest members of the Legal Division!

• Neel Agrawal, University of Washington
• Angela Aranas, Catholic University of America
• Veronika Kollbrand, Dalhousie University
• Dave Lyons, Rutgers University
• Lorena Neal, University of Illinois
• Vuong Nguyen, University of California, Los Angeles
• Karen Ronga, Kent State University
• Hilary Stamper, Dalhousie University
• Barbara Tafuto, The State University of New York, University at Buffalo
• Kirsten Terry, University of Michigan

Thank you on behalf of the Student Relations Committee:

Grace Rosales, Chair
Helen Mok
Emily Roberts

The 2012 Legal Division Awards were announced at the Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA Breakfast and Legal Division Business Meeting.  Please join us in congratulating the following recipients!

• Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA Outstanding New Member Contribution Award – Liz Polly from Stites and Harbison PLLC in Lexington, Kentucky
• Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Innovations in Law Librarianship Award – Rosalie Piscitelli from Weil Gotshal and Manges in New York, New York
• Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement – Martha Foote from LibraryCo, Inc. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Many thanks to our generous sponsors as well!

Do you like hearing about the latest legal cases or staying on top business and legal trends?  Then consider being a Law Librarian!   Law librarians work in many settings including law schools, law firms, government libraries and many public and private companies.  They go by many titles:  law librarian, researcher or information analyst.

If you’re interested in learning more about this exciting field, then join the SLA Legal Division.  SLA Legal Division offers a wide variety of online education opportunities designed to sharpen professional skills throughout your career.  Previous webinar topics have included using social media tools for research, business communication, and career development/job search.  You can also find a mentor to help you learn more about law librarianship.

SLA Legal Division also offers several grants to attend the annual conference.  The conference creates an environment for networking, communication, learning and other developmental opportunities for information professionals. Student membership is only $40.  This includes one chapter and one division.  Here’s the membership link.:  http://www.sla.org/content/membership/joinsla/index.cfm.

As an incentive to join Legal Division, the Student Relations Group will sponsor a contest to win 10 SLA student memberships.  Just write a short paragraph describing your interest in the legal information profession and send this to SLA Student Relations Group Chair Grace Rosales by Friday, June 22, 2012.  Winning entries will receive a one-year free membership with SLA.  We will need a receipt of payment and we will send you reimbursement for payment of your membership.  If you are currently a member, we will pay for your next renewal.  Winners will be notified by Friday, June 29.  Please note that if you are a winner we would like to get a photo of you to include with the winning entries along with a signed waiver so that we can use it for future promotional materials.

Come join us and explore the exciting field of law librarianship!  Send in your entries today!

Any questions?  Feel free to contact the SLA Student Relations Group Chair: Grace Rosales.

Join me in congratulating three of our Legal Division members who are the 2012 recipients of travel grant awards!  We received many outstanding applications from exemplary candidates.  Thank you to all who applied!  The Grants Committee had to make some difficult decisions and I thank them for their service.

Also, please recognize our fantastic vendor partners who sponsored these awards: LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters Westlaw and Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.  We are grateful for their support.

Now, without further ado, your 2012 Legal Division travel grant winners!

Thomson Reuters Westlaw U.S. Law Librarian New Member Travel Grant Award ($1,500) :

• Joseph Keslar, Electronic Services Technician at Blank Rome LLP in Philadelphia, PA

LexisNexis U.S. Law Librarian Veteran Member Travel Grant Award ($1,500) :

• Elizabeth M.C. Scheibel, Librarian at Lindquist & Vennum PLLP in Minneapolis, MN

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Non-U.S. Law Librarian Travel Grant Award ($3,000) :

• Amanda Adams, Librarian at Nipissing Law Library in North Bay, Ontario, Canada

Tracy Z. Maleeff
SLA Legal Division Chair

SLA’s Legal Division will begin giving three new awards this year.

Nominations will be accepted until April 1, 2012.  Self nomination is acceptable and encouraged.  Please find descriptions below.

Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement

The Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement is designed to recognize a member who has provided significant service to the SLA Legal Division. The award includes an engraved keepsake and small monetary award, generously provided by Thomson Reuters Westlaw. Download the award description and nomination form (printable PDF, MS Word form).

Selection Criteria

• The nominee must be a member in good standing of the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must have been a member of the SLA Legal Division for at least five years
• The nominee must not have previously received the Thomson Reuters Westlaw Award for Career Achievement
• The nominee must have provided special service to the SLA Legal Division or have a record of sustained service
• The nominee must not be a current or immediate past officer of the SLA Legal Division

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Innovations in Law Librarianship Award

The Innovations in Law Librarianship award is designed to recognize a member of the SLA Legal Division who demonstrates innovation and creativity in solving problems or improving resources, programs, services, or operations for law library professionals and the clients they serve.  The award includes an appropriate engraved keepsake and is generously supported by Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. Download the award description and nomination form (printable PDF, MS Word form).

Selection Criteria

• The nominee must be a member in good standing of the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must not have previously received the Innovations in Law Librarianship  Award
• The nominee must have demonstrated innovation and creativity in solving problems or improved resources, programs, services, or operations for law library professionals and the clients they serve

Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA Outstanding New Member Contribution Award

The Outstanding New Member Contribution award is designed to recognize a member in the early stages of his/her career who has already made significant contributions to the SLA Legal Division and shows outstanding potential for continued service and leadership within the Division and the profession.  The award includes an engraved keepsake and a small monetary award and is generously supported by Bloomberg Law/Bloomberg BNA. Download the award description and nomination form (printable PDF, MS Word form).

Selection Criteria

• The nominee must be a member in good standing of the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must be in the first 10 years of his/her law library career
• The nominee must not have previously received the Outstanding New Member  Contribution Award
• The nominee must have made significant contributions to the SLA Legal Division
• The nominee must show outstanding potential for continued service and leadership within the SLA Legal Division and the profession

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Sarah Mauldin.