2012 IEEE Continuing Education Stipend Recipient

The SLA Engineering Division is pleased to announce:  

 Liz Zhang is the recipient the of the IEEE Continuing Education Stipend.

 Li Zhang is currently working as a Reference Librarian/Science Subject Specialist at Mississippi State University Libraries. She graduated from the University of South Florida with Master’s degrees in Instructional Technology and Library and Information Science. At Mississippi State University Libraries, she participates in various activities of the Reference Department, providing research assistance to patrons, particularly for faculty and students in the science and engineering disciplines, teaching course-related library instruction classes, and many more. She is actively involved in professional organizations.

 IEEE will present Liz Zhang with an award plaque and $1000 check to support her attendance at the 2012 SLA Annual Conference in Chicago.  The presentation will take place during the Engineering Division Luncheon & Business Meeting, Monday  July 16, 2012, 12:00pm – 1:30pm.   

 Congratulations!  Liz Zhang

The SLA Engineering Division is pleased to announce:  

 James Blank is the recipient the of the SLA Engineering Librarian of the Year Award .  The Engineering Librarian of the Year, sponsored by IHS, highlights the accomplishments and contributions of SLA Engineering Division members to the engineering librarian profession.

James Blank is a Technical Knowledge Specialist in the engineering library at Caterpillar Inc. Since joining Caterpillar in 2000, James responsibilities have included many library functions, such as cataloging, acquisitions, collection development, and website administration. He currently has responsibility for performing in-depth research, administering access to industry standards, and serving as a knowledge management steward, among other duties.

IHS will present James Blank with the award and a $1500 check during the Engineering Division Luncheon & Business Meeting,  held Monday July 16, 2012 12:00pm – 1:30pm.

 Congratulations James!

2012 SPIE Digital Library Student Travel Stipend Award
The SLA Engineering Division is pleased to announce:  

Melanie A. Sturgeon is the recipient the of the SPIE Digital Library Student Travel Stipend Award

Melanie A. Sturgeon is finishing her MSLS at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.  She has spent the previous 14 years as a mechanical engineer, with a BS and MSE.  Currently, she works as an engineer at IBM while balancing school and two part-time library graduate assistantships at the reference desk at UNC and in the learning commons at NCSU.  Her goal is to combine her engineering education and experience with her new library science and information literacy skills as a librarian in an academic or corporate environment.

SPIE Digital Library will present Melanie A. Sturgeon with the award and $1200 check to support her attendance at the 2012 SLA Annual Conference in Chicago.  The presentation will take place during the Engineering Division Luncheon & Business Meeting,  held Monday July 16, 2012 12:00pm – 1:30pm.

Congratulations  Melanie!

• $1000 IEEE Continuing Education Stipend
  •  http://engineering.sla.org/continuing-education-stipend/
• $1500 SLA Engineering Librarian of the Year Award sponsored by IHS
  • http://engineering.sla.org/engineering-librarian-of-the-year/
• $1200 SPIE Digital Library Student Travel Stipend Award  
  • http://engineering.sla.org/student-travel-stipend/

 Check out past award winners!!! http://engineering.sla.org/awards/award-winners/

OK, this may be a bit hokey but don’t you think this nomination would make a great Christmas gift for a librarian that you know?  I’m sure that you are aware of things that the librarians in your neck of the woods are doing that are pretty nifty…let us know what those things are….are they using social media in a different way…have they brought in old technology but used it in a new way….are they expanding opportunities for their library/information center/technology palace/whatever it is called doing something that the rest of us could benefit from….have they written articles or given presentations in publications or at a conference that spread the good news that engineers need libraries and especially librarians?

Think about spreading some holiday cheer amongst your professional colleagues and nominate someone for our Division’s Engineering Librarian of the Year!  This would be a great stocking stuffer for someone OR you could play Secret Santa and nominate a colleague anonymously!

In the spirit of the season, spread some Christmas cheer and nominate someone you know,

- Sara Davis (past recipient of the award and still reaping benefits from it!)

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Randy Reichardt, Winner of the 2011 SLA Engineering Librarian of the Year Award, with Rob Kurtz and Heather Fairfield of IHS