The SLA Europe Board is delighted to announce the winners of the SLA Europe Early Career Conference Awards 2013. The winners, who will attend the SLA Conference & INFO-EXPO in San Diego from 9th-11th June 2013, are Penny Andrews, Lizzie Caperon, Lauren Lawler, and Laura Williams. We extend our congratulations to all four winners of this year’s awards.
Penny Andrews is an activist, writer, performer (Radio 4, Glastonbury), musician (Radio 1, Latitude, Wireless), producer and gadget freak. She currently works as the Library Graduate Trainee at Leeds Metropolitan University. She is a Library Camp organiser, National Autistic Society Ambassador, and cerebral palsy sprinter. Penny is co-sponsored by the Leadership & Management Division.
Lizzie Caperon is a subject librarian at Leeds University involved in information literacy teaching, developing online tutorials, collection management and liaison with academic departments. Lizzie is also completing a Masters dissertation on mobile technologies in libraries. Lizzie is co-sponsored by the Pharmaceutical & Health Technology Division.
Lauren Lawler 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. Lauren is co-sponsored by the Legal Division (supported by Jones McClure).
Laura Williams has worked as an information professional in the media sector since graduating from Sheffield University in 2011 with an MA in Librarianship. Laura is currently working in the media library at ITV as a Media Logistics Co-ordinator responsible for delivering programme content on tape across the organisation for broadcast. Laura is co-sponsored by the Business & Finance Division.
The Awards cover all expenses including Conference registration, transportation, food, lodging, and incidental expenses. In return the Award winners will participate in and assist with their co-sponsoring Division’s events during the Conference and report on their experience for their Division’s and for SLA Europe’s newsletters and blogs.
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.”
The SLA Europe ECCAs, now in their seventh year, are given annually to library and information professionals who have been working for less than five years or are enrolled in a European graduate-level programme of study in LIS. Applicants are required to have excellent English language skills and be first-time attendees at an SLA Annual Conference. The application process involves writing a personal statement, providing an up-to-date CV, and obtaining a recommendation from a professional in the LIS field.
SLA Europe are proud to co-sponsor this year’s Awards with SLA’s Business & Finance Division, Leadership & Management Division, Legal Division (supported by Jones McClure), and Pharmaceutical & Health Technology Division.
Congratulations to this outstanding group of ECCA13 winners! You are each very impressive in your own right, and I know you will make important contributions to the success of SLA’s conference in San Diego. I look forward to meeting each of you, and working closely with you in the years ahead to strengthen SLA and the information profession.