Library and information professional award for excellence

DR PAULETTE Stewart is an advocate for libraries and information units, and consistently demonstrates excellence in her work as a library and information professional. She is well known and highly regarded not only for her keen knowledge of library and information studies, but also for her pleasant, helpful, and calm demeanour.

Dr Stewart has demonstrated her commitment to the profession by serving in diverse capacities over the years. Her distinguished record of service to the profession includes, but is not limited to:

Director of the Latin American and the Caribbean arm of The International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) – 2012.

President of the Library and Information Association of Jamaica (LIAJA) – 2010.

Head of the Department of Library and Information Studies (DLIS), UWI, Mona – 2015present.

Chair of the School Section of LIAJA – 20052008.

Librarian, UWI Main Library 2006-2007

Lecturer in DLIS, UWI, Mona – 2009-2015.

Part-time lecturer in the Department of Education, UWI, Mona – 2006-2009.

External assessor for Library and Information Studies at The Mico University College – 2010-2015.

IIIIIIIILIFE OF LITERATURE

A prolific writer whose work can be found in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, book chapters and poster presentations, Dr Stewart has written extensively on information literacy and school libraries – two of her many research interests. She is a frequent presenter at local and international conferences. She has also advanced the literature of the library and information profession by serving on research paper review committees for prestigious peerreviewed academic journals such as the International Journal of Library and Information Science. Additionally, she has been supervising postgraduate research students since the year 2005 and has developed courses for delivery at the graduate and postgraduate levels in the DLIS, UWI, Mona.

Dr Stewart has been the recipient of:

The International Association of School Librarianship 2010 Takeshi Murofushi Research Award for her research paper on IASL Conferences, entitled: ‘An Evaluation of the Attendance Pattern of Participants’ 1998-2010.

The Librarian of the Year award from the Library and Information Association of Jamaica (LIAJA) – 2009.

The Ken Haycock Leadership Development Award for outstanding work done in the School Section of the Library and Information Association of Jamaica – 2006

Dorothy Collins Award – Faculty of Arts and Education, UWI, for most outstanding academic performance in the Master of Library and Information Studies in 2001

The Kiwanis Club Award (Kingston and St Andrew) for outstanding contribution to the Mountain View Primary School Builders’ Club – 1989

Her dedication to the library and information profession, academia and research makes her an exemplary professional and role model. LIAJA is proud to present to Dr Paulette Stewart the 2016 Library and Information Professional Award for Excellence. Paulette Stewart, Librarian of the Year.

IIIIITHERE IS a direct cause and effect relationship between investment in libraries and success. The relationship is straightforward: countries, universities, schools, corporations, and departments of government which invest in their libraries are more successful than those who don’t. They succeed because the persons who work or study in those organisations know that the library is a powerful partner for getting their jobs done effectively. The library, whether it is largely print or electronic or a combination of both, serves to help their constituents know what they need to know and how to find and effectively use the information which best suits their needs. So my message to you dear reader is: don’t believe the hype that libraries are no longer needed. Don’t be fooled! Developed countries and major corporations are spending more on their libraries. Want some examples? Google Boston Public Library, Google New York Public Library, Google the recently released MIT study on Future of Libraries – all are about recognising that libraries do matter to personal, institutional and national development. So, Jamaica, please do not buy the hype. Don’t be trapped in ignorance for the lack of libraries. Jamaica, even more than those places, need libraries. And guess Winsome Hudson what, you don’t need a personal credit card to access quality information as many of our Jamaican libraries subscribe on your behalf to those pay-for-use databases. Go use a library today: the one at your workplace, the one in your school/university, branch library, the one in your ministry or department of government. If it falls short of your needs, raise your voice: Libraries matter. Don’t do without. The cost of doing without wellresourced libraries is ignorance and costly mistakes.

You may start by visiting the National Library of Jamaica online at www.nlj.gov.jm See you soon.

Winsome Hudson, BH[M] National Librarian/CEO National Library of Jamaica