ASIS&T, the American Society for Information Science and Technology, has announced that it has selected Marjorie Hlava, President of Access Innovations, Inc., as the 2014 Award of Merit winner.
“The Award of Merit is our society’s highest award,” explained Richard Hill, Executive Director of ASIS&T, “and Margie has definitely earned it through her achievements. She has created opportunities where none previously existed, thereby expanding the field itself. In addition, as a member of ASIS&T, she has contributed countless hours of volunteer service to the great benefit of the Society.”
“Marjorie Hlava has spent forty years demonstrating how published theories of information science work in large-scale environments. Information professionals, and in fact people not even aware they are part of the information industry, use things she has created without realizing it. She has a keen eye for identifying ways in which fundamental principles of knowledge organization can become useful in the less-than-perfect environment of everyday applications,” wrote Harry Bruce, ASIS&T president, in the meeting program. “She could easily have led an academic life; however, she chose a different, and in many ways more difficult, way of shaping information science. She created a company and set of products and solutions (standards, schemas, languages, databases, taxonomies) that both applied principles and drove research by demonstrating what worked and what needs to be done.
“Patents, a diversity of projects, and a spirit of entrepreneurship illustrated strengthened key linkages between associated fields. Her nomination packet includes five letters, all of which are from significant information scientists, demonstrating how Marjorie is an example of how ASIS&T is unique in supporting a special blend of applied and theoretical work.”
Ms. Hlava was interviewed in April of 2014 as part of the “Leaders of Information Science and Technology Worldwide: In Their Own Words” initiative sponsored by the ASIS&T under the guidance of the Special Interest Group, History and Foundations of Information Science (SIG/HFIS) and the 75th Anniversary Task Force of ASIS&T. A video of this interview is posted on the ASIS&T website and can be viewed here.
“I am surprised, delighted, and humbled by this honor,” commented Ms. Hlava. “I have always enjoyed my membership in ASIS&T and found the presentations to be a springboard for new ideas to try.”
Access Innovations CEO Jay Ven Eman observed, “The insights Margie has gained from attending the meetings and networking with other members have fueled her desire to undertake new (and sometimes daring!) developments with the company’s service offerings and, later, the software. Conversations with other members have helped her find creative ways to address the applications of information science and its challenges. We look forward to many more years of continued involvement in ASIS&T.”
According to the ASIS&T website, “The Award of Merit was established in 1964 and is administered by the Awards and Honors Committee. The purpose of the award is to recognize an individual deemed to have made noteworthy contributions to the field of information science. Such contributions may include the expression of new ideas, the creation of new devices, the development of better techniques, or substantial research efforts which have led to further development of thought or devices or applications, or outstanding service to the profession of information science, as evidenced by successful efforts in the educational, social, or political processes affecting the profession.
“The award is a once-in-a-lifetime award and is sponsored by the Society-at-Large and is administered by the Awards and Honors Committee. The award shall be announced and presented to the winner by the ASIS&T President, with appropriate ceremony, at the banquet of the annual meeting of the Society.”
The presentation of the Award of Merit and the society’s other awards is to be made by Harry Bruce, the current ASIS&T president, at the upcoming ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington at the Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.
About Access Innovations, Inc.
www.accessinn.com, www.dataharmony.com, www.taxodiary.com
Founded in 1978, Access Innovations has extensive experience with Internet technology applications, master data management, database creation, thesaurus and taxonomy creation, and semantic integration. Access Innovations’ Data Harmony® software includes automatic indexing, thesaurus management, an XML Intranet System (XIS), and metadata extraction for content creation developed to meet productions environment needs. Data Harmony is used by publishers, governments, and corporate clients throughout the world.
About ASIS&T – www.asis.org
Since 1937, the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) has been the association for information professionals leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information. ASIS&T brings together diverse streams of knowledge, focusing what might be disparate approaches into novel solutions to common problems. ASIS&T bridges the gaps not only between disciplines, but also between the research that drives and the practices that sustain new developments. ASIS&T counts among its membership some 4,000 information specialists from such fields as computer science, linguistics, management, librarianship, engineering, law, medicine, chemistry, and education – individuals who share a common interest in improving the ways society stores, retrieves, analyzes, manages, archives and disseminates information, coming together for mutual benefit.
