Special Libraries Association (SLA) Announces 2025 Award Winners

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is proud to announce the winners of its 2025 Awards, recognizing individuals and organizations for their extraordinary contributions to the field of special librarianship and information science. These awards celebrate innovation, leadership, and dedication that advance the profession and inspire the global SLA community.

The 2025 SLA Award Winners are:

Fellows of SLA Recipients: Chris Doty, Shiva Kanaujia, Zac Painter, Abby Thorne

Fellowship in SLA is bestowed on active, SLA members in recognition of past and present service, as well as expected future contributions to the association and the profession. Typically with at least 10-15 years of experience in the profession, Fellows are called upon and expected to advise the association’s Board of Directors, prepare necessary documentation, and alert the membership to issues and trends warranting action.

James M. Matarazzo Rising Star Award Recipients: Bidhan Dolai, Laura Dowell, Justin Gaynor, Tim Palmer

This honor is bestowed annually to recognize outstanding new SLA members who show exceptional promise of leadership and contribution to the association and profession. Nominees must have one to ten years of professional experience as an information professional and have been an SLA member for ten years or less.

Rose L. Vormelker Award Recipient: Wei Zakharov

The “Rosie” is presented to a member in good standing who actively teaches and/or mentors students or working professionals.

SLA Hall of Fame Award Recipients: Eileen Rourke and Ty Webb

Membership in the SLA Hall of Fame is accorded to SLA members in good standing who are at or near the end of their active professional career to recognize service and contributions to the association. Hall of Fame recognition is also granted for lengthy distinguished service to an SLA chapter or division that has contributed to the success of the association.

John Cotton Dana Award Recipient: Deborah Hunt

The John Cotton Dana Award is SLA’s top honor, named for SLA’s founder and first president. It is granted to an information professional to recognize a lifetime of achievement as well as exceptional service to SLA and the library and information profession.

SLA is also proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Conference Travel Scholarship, as well as the Presidential Citations presented by SLA Past-President John DiGilio.

2025 Conference Travel Scholarship

SLA provides travel scholarships to students and recent graduates of undergraduate and graduate library and information science programs to attend the SLA Annual Conference. Each award includes conference registration and a cash stipend in the amount of 2,000 USD. Please note, two awardees were unable to attend the conference, but we still celebrate their achievement. 

The 2025 SLA Conference Scholarship Award Winners are:

Shaden Al Dada, University of Pittsburgh

Andria Castillo, Dominican University               

Catherine Dinh, San José State University

Annie Duckworth, City St. George’s, University of London

Emilie Ducourneau, San José State University

Justin Gaynor, San José State University

Bailey Hart, University of California, Los Angeles

Zoe Hiscutt, University College London

Alex Kessler, Dominican University

Katherine Knight, University of College London

Melissa Krause, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Sarah Lancaster, University of Michigan

Kimberly Lin, San José State University

Adrienn Mendonca-Jones, Indiana University

Craig Moore, Florida State University

Christine Nguyen, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Michael Simiele, San José State University

Benjamin "Bazle" Smith, University of South Florida

2025 Presidential Citations:

Each year, it is SLA’s custom to allow the current Past-President of the Association to honor select members with Presidential Citations. These citations are awarded to individuals who made meaningful contributions to the goals, initiatives, and administration of the Past-President while they were as Association President. 

Past-President John DiGilio awarded 2025 Presidential Citations to:

Anne Barker, for work on the SLA investment policy and Scholarship Committee.

Mary Sohn Lee and William “Bill” Lee, for their fantastic work leading the SLA Scholarship Committee.

Zachary Painter and Heather Kotula, for their work on the revamped SLA Code of Conduct.

Dan Bostrom, James Manasco, and Christine Pelosi, for advocacy on behalf of SLA’s Communities and Members.

The recipients were honored in-person at the SLA Annual Conference, at the University of Pittsburgh, June 7-10, 2025. This event brought together SLA members, industry leaders, and thought leaders to celebrate the achievements of this year’s award winners and foster meaningful connections within the information community.