Syracuse University School of Information Studies Prof. Jill Hurst-Wahl was elected to a three-year term on the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Board of Directors.
Hurst-Wahl was one of five newly elected board members who will begin their terms on the SLA Board of Directors on January 1, 2011, and participate in their first board meeting during the association’s annual Leadership Summit later that month in Washington, D.C.
“SLA has been an important part of my professional life since 1990 and it’s like family to me. Over the years, I’ve done my best to donate my time and talents to help the organization, and I look forward to doing so as a director, especially in the challenging year ahead,” Hurst-Wahl said.
Of 9,400 SLA members eligible to vote, 27.27 percent (2,563) did so. That percentage represents a new high for the Board of Directors election, topping the previous mark of 26.79 percent set in the 2009 election.
In addition to their individual awareness efforts, the 10 international candidates running for the positions on the board were asked to answer the question: How does SLA help its members become essential in the new knowledge economy?
“The learning and networking opportunities through SLA help us to remain essential,” Hurst-Wahl said. She described the numerous virtual and in-person seminars and conferences the organization sponsors each year to help members increase their knowledge of resources and systems as well as leadership and management. She also discussed the powerful network of 10,000 SLA members. She suggested the organization should help link the individual members’ networks to the SLA community to leverage the power of the broader network to meet the professional needs of the association, its members, and related industries.
About Jill Hurst-Wahl
Hurst-Wahl is a graduate of Elmira College and earned an MLS from the University of Maryland. Throughout her career, she has blended library science, information technology, and entrepreneurship. In the past, she worked as a trainer and a programmer/analyst in information technology and managed two corporate libraries. She currently owns her own consulting practice, Hurst Associates, which helps organizations understand and plan all aspects of successful digitization projects. In 2007, Hurst-Wahl was honored as the Minority Small Business Champion by the Syracuse office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
She is a member of SLA’s Information Outlook Advisory Council and has chaired the Second Life Workgroup (2008) and the Association Networking Committee (2001-2003). In the Upstate New York Chapter, Hurst-Wahl has held several positions, including business manager, president (1998-1999), archivist, and chapter liaison to the Syracuse University student group. She is currently a member of the Information Technology Division, the Leadership & Management Division, and the Baseball Caucus and serves the IT Division as its professional development chair.
Her interests include digitization, digital libraries, copyright, online social networking, Web 2.0, and virtual words. She teaches courses at the Syracuse iSchool on Digital Libraries; Creating, Managing, and Preserving Digital Assets; and Business Information Resources and Strategic Intelligence.
About SLA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves about 10,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic, and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives.