The New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) held their Spring Conference on April 4, 2003 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Part of the program includes the presentation of the NETSL Award (for more about this award and its past recipients, see <http://www.nelib.org/netsl/award.htm>). This year's award was presented to Sheila Intner by Karl Fattig, NETSL President, 2002/2003. Karl Fattig's presentation is provided here in full, followed by the text of the award itself.
"The NETSL Award for Excellence in Library Technical Services recognizes and honors significant New England-based contributions to the field of technical services in one or more of the following areas: (1) Leadership in professional associations at the local, state, regional, or national level; (2) contributions to the development, application, or utilization of new or improved formats, methods, techniques, and routines; (3) significant contributions to professional literature; and (4) conducting studies or research in technical services. Selection of a recipient is made from among the candidates whose names and qualifications have been submitted to the NETSL Executive Board by January 10th of the award year.
"It is my distinct pleasure to announce that at its February 2003 meeting, the NETSL Board chose as the recipient of the third annual NETSL Award Sheila Intner, Professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science of Simmons College. … David Miller, a student of Sheila’s [will] serve as a proxy for all of her students here and abroad … to present the certificate to Sheila.
"For more than two decades, Sheila Intner has been an inspiring teacher of cataloging, collection development, technical services, and book repair, mostly, though not exclusively at Simmons College. It is also worth noting that Sheila’s library science career has taken her all over the world--Israel, China, Germany. And her bright star has attracted many from abroad to this land. In letters of nomination her former students vividly describe her captivating enthusiasm for whatever she is teaching,. They laud her genuine ability to get at the crux of a complicated issue and provide both the theoretical background necessary for understanding the issue’s complexities as well as the pragmatic approach to solving the real problems of running a technical services department. Her students also cite her keen ability to inspire them to examine the record, think for themselves, get involved, contribute themselves to the common values of librarianship, and to develop the connections, networking and acumen necessary to succeed for the many lives of their librarianship. Her own career is an exemplum in this regard, and indeed many of her students refer to the instructive way she is able to draw from her own professional experiences in the classroom. As her colleague Nancy Olson explains, 'She is an excellent teacher, and this is such an important contribution. There are fewer and fewer library schools offering any courses in cataloging, and some of those offered are not taught well. Sheila teaches cataloging with enthusiasm and with expertise, and has guided the careers of many into cataloging and/or technical services over her years in the profession. It is as a teacher, that Sheila Intner has made the longest lasting contribution to the library profession'. It is not surprising, then that the Association of Library Collections and Technical Services recognized her significant contributions nationally in 1997, when they awarded her the Margaret Mann Citation Award for excellence in cataloging and classification education.
"Even those of us not fortunate enough to have taken a course with Professor Intner have learned much from her. For Sheila has made an important contribution to the professional literature; as an editor of Library Resources and Technical Services and Technicalities, as well as author/editor of fifteen monographs on various aspects of technical services she has advanced the knowledge of catalogers and technical services librarians in immeasurable ways. Her devotion to the topic of non-book materials and their particularities has provided a font of resources to technical services librarians. Her own work and her thoughtful collaborations with Nancy Olson, Jean Weihs and others have shown a bright light on an emerging and growing area of librarianship, and one that reflects a distinct trend in our culture, that of the primacy of the visual resource. Another important area of research and scholarly endeavor for Sheila has been that of the recruitment, training and education of technical services librarians of all stripes, from collection development to cataloging and acquisitions. The 1989 Simmons College Symposium on Recruiting, Educating and Training Cataloging Librarians was ground-breaking and the inspirational volume of proceedings included contributions that questioned established practices, reviewed what was working and indicated new directions and responsibilities for both practitioners and educators alike. A second volume devoted to collection development librarians appeared in 1994. One theme that runs throughout Sheila’s scholarship is the over-arching importance of process and the excited acceptance and embrace of change in technical services librarianship. Yet her work also reflects a staunch determination that professional bibliographic control specialists are central to what libraries can be and do for their patrons.
"Sheila, this afternoon, in recognition of your exemplary leadership, pedagogical expertise, legacy of highly successful students and original scholarship in the realm of technical services, NETSL proudly presents to you this certificate, our Award for Excellence in Library Technical Services. We extend warm wishes to you for a fruitful, happy, and intellectually challenging continuation."
New England Technical Services Librarians
a division of the
New England Library Association
Presents the
2003
NETSL Award for Excellence in Library Technical Services
to
Sheila S. Intner
for her outstanding leadership in the discipline of technical services education that has brought about tremendous advances in the field nationally and internationally through her writings and her many presentations to professional groups; for her superb performance as a classroom teacher; for her willingness to guide students and new librarians through the process of professional publishing; for her work as an exacting editor that has resulted in the highest quality of literature in the field; and for her tireless dedication to technical services as a profession throughout her career.