Earlier this month, we announced the winners of the SLA Europe Early Career Conference Awards 2013. The winners – Penny Andrews, Lizzie Caperon, Lauren Lawler, and Laura Williams – are co-sponsored by SLA Europe, Leadership & Management Division, Pharmaceutical & Health Technology Division, Legal Division (supported by Jones McClure), and Business & Finance Division. Each winner has been assigned a mentor from SLA Europe and a mentor from their Division to help them make the most of their SLA Conference experience.
Meet the winners below and hear how attending the SLA Conference will impact them.
Penny Andrews
I am an activist, writer, performer (Radio 4, Glastonbury), musician (Radio 1, Latitude, Wireless), producer and gadget freak. I currently work as the Library Graduate Trainee at Leeds Metropolitan University. My interests include Open Access, repositories, accessibility, interoperability, digital libraries, human-computer interaction, Research Data Management and information seeking behaviour. I am a Library Camp organiser, National Autistic Society Ambassador and cerebral palsy sprinter.
I am anticipating the life-changing nature of the ECCA experience, as every account I’ve read or heard from past winners has indicated that this will be the case. I’m looking forward to meeting new people from all over the world and discovering new ideas and technologies.
Website: http://www.pennybinary.com
Lizzie Caperon
I work as subject librarian at Leeds University where I’m involved in information literacy teaching, developing online tutorials, collection management and liaison with academic departments. I’m also completing a masters dissertation on mobile technologies in the libraries.
I’m very much looking forward to meeting like-minded information professionals from all over the world at the SLA Conference and finding out international context to the current debates in the UK around Open Access to resources, MOOCs and the future of the library profession.
Lauren Lawler
I am the Assistant Knowledge Services Manager at A&L Goodbody Solicitors in Dublin. I hold 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.
I’m so delighted to be attending the SLA Conference this year, and am looking forward to meeting with the SLA Legal Division as well as meeting law librarians from all over the world.
Laura Williams
I have worked as an information professional in the media sector since graduating from Sheffield University in 2011 with an MA in Librarianship. I’m 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. Prior to this role, I worked for ITV in other roles within the ITV programme archive. Before attending library school I was a graduate trainee at the Bodleian Law Library.
I’m looking forward to gaining a broadened perspective on digital information at the conference as well as networking opportunities.
The SLA Europe Board and the boards of the co-sponsoring Divisions are proud to welcome the 2013 ECCAs to SLA and to help them advance their careers. Look out for more blogs, reports, and tweets about their experiences at SLA 2013 in San Diego.