Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship Raffle Prizes Preview

It's not too late to donate raffle prizes for the Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser on Saturday, September 26th at the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Here's a preview of some of the raffle prizes. You must be present to win, so register now at http://www.sla-scc.org/web_pages/events_section/sla_scc_events.htm!




Contact Belinda Beardt at bbeardt@gmail.com if you wish to donate raffle prizes!

Corporate donors:
Library Associates Companies
AIM Library & Information Staffing

Member donors:
Laurie Allen
Teresa Bailey
Belinda Beardt
David Cappoli
Frances Chu
Ann Coppin
Jeanie Frasier
Debbie Hartzman
Doris Small Helfer
Peter Johnson
Sara Tompson

The 2009 Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship

We have the pleasure to announce that this year's Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Michelle Gorospe and Allison Schulte (click to read their statement), two students who have distinguished themselves in meaningful, and quite different, ways that exemplify the very best in our profession.

The Scholarship Committee came away from this year's judging process convinced that the profession is in very good hands. Together, all of the applicants and their essays revealed a new generation of librarians who are not only forward-reaching in their thinking, but aware that they are building on a long tradition of good scholarship.

But two in particular stood out, equally so, and for very different reasons; the judges finally decided on a split decision -- something that has happened only once before in the history of the Sternheim Scholarship.

Allison and Michelle focused on issues of profound importance to 21st century librarians; although their topics were quite different, we felt that each demonstrated a deep passion for her subject, and that this holds the promise of bringing these messages to the wider profession as these two students pursue their careers.

Michelle, who works full-time as the Stacks Supervisor at UCLA Law Library while taking a full class load in the UCLA MLIS program, listed her special librarianship areas of interest as "law libraries and special collections in general, and preservation and collection development in particular." For her, the issues of assuring authenticity and integrity in digital documents is one of the greatest challenges facing special librarians today, regardless of their domain.

Allison, a full-time student in the SLIS program at SJSU, a clerk for Los Angeles Public Library, and the librarian at the Tom of Finland Foundation (Tom was a renowned artist of gay male erotica), finds her passion "in providing information to under served communities and preserving archives that are often culturally devalued and go unprotected." For her, the difficult balance between assuring freedom of access to information amid community-imposed limitations is more pressing than ever.

These issues, and many others, will require thoughtful professionals not only to raise awareness, but to guide best practice and help special libraries navigate them in the coming years. The judges were convinced that in Michelle and Allison, special libraries will have two very special advocates.

Allison and Michelle will recieve their awards this fall at the SCC-SLA chapter awards dinner, a date for which is expected to be announced soon. They also will be recognized at the chapter's annual Sternheim Scholarship fundraiser, scheduled from 4:30-8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Los Angeles County Arboretum.

Please join us in congratulating Allison and Michelle. We extend our thanks and gratitude to all the candidates, as well as to the committee members:

Peter Johnson, Chair, Scholarship Committee

Rita Costello, Director, UCLA Rosenfeld Management Library

Keith Gurtzweiler, Vice President, Recruiting, Library Associates,

Vicky McCargar, Archivist, Mount St. Mary's College

Please mark the fundraiser date -- Sept. 26, 2009 -- on your calendars, and plan to attend what promises to be a fun and entertaining gathering.

Fall 2008 Chapter Events

For more information on these upcoming chapter events, go to: http://www.sla-scc.org

Sep. 11 - Virtual Seminar - "Themes of Change in Corporate Libraries: Considerations for Academic Librarians". Research Analyst Ross Housewright discusses how corporate libraries have evolved to remain relevant in the internet age, and how academic librarians can learn from that experience.

Oct. 4 - An Afternoon at the San Antonio Winery with Special Guest, SLA President-Elect Gloria Zamora. Proceeds to benefit the chapter's Karen Sternheim Memorial Scholarship.

Oct. 15 - The Power of Vision - Blue Pen Companies and Red Pen Companies: A presentation by Bill Bellows, of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, on new ways of thinking, learning, and working together. Also a tour of the Leadership & Learning Center, which houses a historical collection of engines and models, including a Space Shuttle Main Engine.

Nov. 12 - Tour the world-famous Jet Propulsion Lab, followed by lunch and a short program on storytelling in special libraries. Tour includes Space Flight Ops and Spacecraft Assembly facilities.