On Tuesday 20th May, the State Library of Western Australia
and ALIAWest jointly held an awards night in the State Library. A large
contingent of the Perth library community, including many eminent members of
the profession, were there to celebrate the achievements of
· Dr Kerry
Smith FALIA and now Fellow of the Library Board of Western Australia,
· Jane Jones,
winner of the Kay Poustie Scholarship,
· The Grove
Library, winner of the Library Board of Western Australia Award for Excellence,
· Kym Andrews
and Pat Gallaher, recipients of ALIA silver pins for serving 5 terms on ALIA committees,
· And the
inaugural members of the ALIA 25 Year Members Club.
The ALIA 25 Year Members Club was established to recognise
members of long standing (see https://www.alia.org.au/our-communities/alia-member-25-year-club).
With over 80 people in WA identified as eligible for membership, it was not
possible to acknowledge them all at the awards. However, the seven most long
standing members (> 40 years): Margaret Medcalf FLAA, Jim Downing, Pat
Gallaher, Dr Alison Gregg, Patricia Walker, Pamela Sotzik, and Imogen Garner
FALIA, were publicly presented with their pins.
It was wonderful to see so many people at various stages of
their career attend, from new professional all the way to retiree. With
convivial companions, good catering, and an engaging group of speakers, the
evening passed quickly.
Library and Information Week is a time to celebrate
excellence in libraries as well as the professionalism and dedication of
library staff. This professionalism and service ethos was clearly demonstrated
by the award recipients and the ALIAWest Committee offers its congratulations
to all.