News Division Awards
MJ Crowley wrote most of the text on this page when she was SLA News Division Archivist.


The SLA News Division awards as we know them today began with the "first annual awards luncheon" June 15, 1978 at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri. Actually the preparation for this luncheon and the awards began in the years prior...but the list of recipient winners dates from 1978.

Barbara Semonche has gathered more information about the awards and the News Division's annual Awards Banquets, including images of the programs and photos from the banquets.

The principal awards of the News Division are:

Certificate of Appreciation and Recognition

This certificate is given periodically to an individual or institution for outstanding contributions in the field of information science and/or news librarianship.

2011 Kee Malesky for her service to the News Division and for her book "All Facts Considered"

Top

Hayden Fellowship

Applications due by Friday, May 8, 2009

The application is available in HTML and Word.

This new award is named after C.B. Hayden, former Director of Research of ABC News. In recognition of his support of continued education and learning for news librarians; his leadership in advancing the resources and technologies used in research; and his generous spirit in sharing his wealth of knowledge, the Hayden Fellowship will consist of an annual financial grant of up to $500 to be divided among one or more applicants for the purpose of job-related continuing education.

The grant will be awarded upon the completion of an application that includes the cost, location and synopsis of the class, a brief explanation of the how the applicant hopes to benefit by attending and a letter of reference from a news librarian or news editor. The applications will be reviewed by a panel who will select the recipient(s). A certificate will be awarded at the annual News Division Awards banquet.

Previous Winners

2003 Carol (Bjork) Taylor, Daily Camera
2004 Lynne Palombo, The Oregonian
2005 Lisa Schwartz, ABC News
2006 Rafael Fernandez, The Miami Herald
2007-2011 No award given
2012 Jessica Baumgart
2013 No award given

Top

Agnes Henebry Roll of Honor Award

Originally called the ROLL OF HONOR AWARD, the current name is the AGNES HENEBRY ROLL OF HONOR. To consist of a certificate. This award is given to a member or former member for service to the Division and for participation in Division programs and projects. In 1984 in memory of former founding member and long standing contributer to the Division Agnes Henebry the name was changed to the AGNES HENEBRY ROLL of HONOR AWARD. Originally this award was given at or near the close of an active professional career.

Previous Winners

1978 John J. Doohan, Kansas City Star; Joseph F. McCarthy, New York Times; Ralph J. Shoemaker, Louisville Courier-Journal
1979 William D. Chase; Flint Journal; David A. Rhydwen Toronto Globe and Mail
1980 Beatrice DuBois, ANPA Library; Roy T. King, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Joseph E. Molloy, Philadelphia Inquirer
1981 Anne B. Jennings, Newspaper Library Sevice Hemet California; Josephine R. Johnson, Louisville Courier-Journa; Alison Oppedahl, Detroit Free Press
1982 James L. Criswell, Houston Post; Edward W. Quill, Boston Globe; Rex Schaeffer, Rochester Times-Union
1983 Sandra K. Hall, Arizona Daily Star; Grace D. Parch, Cleveland Plain Dealer; Lou Thomas, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate
1984 Virginia Carter Hills, National Geographic Society; Helen M. Orcutt, The Blade Toledo Ohio; Marian M. Orgain, The Houston Cronicle; Chester W. Sanger, Christian Science Monitor
1985 James Scofield, St. Petersburg Times-Independent; Joy Hill, USA Today; Ernest Perez, Chicago Sun-Times; Nancy W. Stoddard, St. Louis Post Dispatch
1986 Homer Martin, Bergen Record; Joseph Mehr, Providence Journal; Mark Hannan, Washington Post; Barbara Newcombe, Chicago Tribune
1987 Carol Lindsay, Toronto Star; Shirley Mooney, Pacific Press Ltd. Vancover
1988 Beverly Russell, Seattle Times; Harish Trivedi, Dayton Daily News
1989 Louise LeGette, Tampa Tribune; Benjamin Lightman, Time Inc.
1990 Joseph D. Dimarino, VU/TEXT Information Services Inc.; Barbara P. Semonche, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1991 Kathy Foley, The Washington Post; Carolyn Hardnett, The Baltimore Sun
1992 Mary Jo (M.J.) Crowley, Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
1993 Yvonne Egerston, Newspaper Association of America; Jo Kirks, Knight-Ridder News Service; Kathy Trimble, U.S. News and World Report
1994 Richard Gieger, The San Francisco Chronicle; Nora Paul, The Poynter Institute
1995 Diane Sponsler Logsdon, The Pentagraph; Elizabeth Haworth, Midlands Technical College
1996 George Schlukbier, NandO; Mary Ann Skinner, Newsday
1997 John F. Jansson, Chicago Tribune; Donna W. Scheeder, Library of Congress
1998 John Cronin, Boston Herald; John Mark and Linda Paschal
1999 No Award Given
2000 Robert H. Jansen, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Linda Henderson, Providence Journal
2001 Charlie Campo, Bangor Daily News; Teresa Leonard, Raleigh News and Observer
2002 Jim Hunter, Columbus Dispatch; Sharon Clairemont, Orange County Register
2003 Judy Canter, The San Francisco Chronicle; Ginny Everett, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2004 Liz Donovan, The Miami Herald; Gary Price, ResourceShelf
2005 Ron Larson, Capital Newspapers; Alice Pepper, Detroit Free Press
2006 Ellie Briscoe, National Geographic Society; Kee Malesky, National Public Radio
2007 Debra Bade, Chicago Tribune; Jessica Baumgart; Renesys
2008 Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg Times; Leigh Poitinger, San Jose Mercury News
2009 Sammy Alzofon, The Palm Beach Post; Mona Hatfield, Contra Costa Times
2010 Justin Scroggs, Newsbank; Jennifer Evert, LexisNexis
2011 Peter Johnson, Los Angeles Times and Shira Kavon, CNN
2012 Dana Gordon, Newsweek and Chris Hardesty, Newsday
2013 Catherine Kitchell, Bloomberg BNA and Derek Willis, New York Times

HISTORY:

Agnes Henebry (1911-1982). Librarian, Decatur IL (1930-1973). Office Operations Assist., Linday Schaub Newspapers (1973-1982). Chair, Newspaper Division SLA (1948-1949). Agnes Henebry occupied a position of respect and affection in the Newspaper Division which is unparalleled and unprescendented. She held every divisional office and served on numerous committees. It was through her dedication as division archivist that the record of history and development of the division was preserved. And it was through her interest and leadership that the pre-conference and regional newspaper library seminars were begun, a legacy which continues to be one of the division's strongest programs. She was one of the authors and served on the Editorial board for the Guidelines for Newspaper Libraries (ANPA 1974). She taught, she shared, she inspired, and encouraged. She honored the Division; the Division honors her.

Top

Joseph F. Kwapil Memorial Award

To consist of a plaque and a grant (currently $500). This award, the highest recognition of the Division, is given for major achievement in the field of news librarianship and outstanding service to the News Division. The recipient has usually actively participated in the Division's programs and projects for a continuous period of ten years.

Previous Winners

1978 Agnes C. Henebry, Decatur Herald and Review
1979 Rose L. Vormelker, Cleveland Plain Dealer
1980 Ralph J. Shoemaker, Louisville Courier-Journal
1981 Chester M. Lewis, New York Times
1982 David A. Rhydwen, Toronto Globe and Mail
1983 William D. Chase, Flint Journal
1984 Clement G. Vitak, Baltimore Sunpaper
1985 Lou Thomas. Baton Rouge Times-Morning Advocate
1986 Andrew Ippolito. Newsday
1987 James Scofield, St. Petersburg Times
1988 Joy Hill, USA Today
1989 Homer E. Martin Jr., The Record Hackensack N.J.
1990 Joseph F. Mehr, The Providence Journal
1991 Bob Isaacs, Ft. Lauderdale News Sun & Sentinel
1992 Shirley Mooney Aabjerg, Pacific Press Ltd.
1993 Carol Lindsey, Toronto Star
1994 Benjamin Lightman, Time Warner Inc.
1995 Barbara Semonche, UNC-CH School of Journalism and Mass Communication
1996 Catherine Jones, Congressional Research Service
1997 Barbara T. Newcombe
1998 Lany McDonald, Time, Inc.
1999 No Award Given
2000 Sandra K. Hall
2001 Kathy Foley, San Antonio Express News
2002 M. J. Crowley, Star Ledger
2003 John Jansson, The Chicago Tribune
2004 John Cronin, Boston Herald
2005 Richard Geiger, San Francisco Chronicle
2006 Nora Paul, Institute for New Media Studies
2007 Carolyn Hardnett Robinson
2008 Ginny Everett, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2009 Jim Hunter, Columbus Dispatch
2010 Linda Henderson, Providence News-Journal
2011 Donna Scheeder, Library of Congress
2012 Charlie Campo, Bangor Daily News
2013 Justin Scroggs, Newsbank

HISTORY:

Joseph F. Kwapil (1882-1933). Librarian, Philadelphia Public Ledger. Founder of the Newspaper Division of the Special Libraries Association [now the News Division]. Chairman, Newspaper Division SLA (1923-1925; 1929-1930). It was he who in 1923 had the vision to promote the organization of a professional group for newspaper librarians and who gave countless hours to typing hundreds of letters to newspaper librarians and managing editors asking them to join with him in this goal. Six librarians met first in Atlantic City, NJ resulting in the formation of the Newspaper Group of Special Libraries the following year. Kwapil served as the first chairman. He gave leadership to the fledgling organization and continued to promote the profession within the industry. He was an early advocate of microfilming bound files of newspapers. For a few years prior to the establishment of the KWAPIL AWARD, the division gave out the Jack K. Burness Award For Distinguished Newspaper Librarianship The award was established in Memory of the chief librarian of the Washington Post who died in 1963. Recipients were: 1965 Chester M. Lewis, New York Times 1966 David A. Rhydwen, Toronto Globe and Mail.

Top

David Rhydwen Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contribution to News Librarianship

The David Rhydwen Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contribution to News Librarianship will be awarded for the first time at the SLA 2005 Annual Conference in Toronto. Because Mr. Rhydwen was with the Globe and Mail for 45 years, the division believes it is fitting to present the first award in Toronto. The award honoring scholarly contributions to the field of news librarianship is meant to be occasional, when an outstanding candidate presents him/herself.

2005 Kathleen Hansen, University of Minnesota School of Journalism
2006 Vicky McCargar, Preservati Partners
2007 Barbara Semonche, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication
2008 No award given
2009 No award given
2010 No award given
2011 Michelle Quigley, for compiling updated information for the census of news librarians, available at
http://bit.ly/cZDT62
2012 No award given
2013 No award given

Top

Ralph J. Shoemaker Award of Merit

Originally called the AWARD OF MERIT, the current name is RALPH J. SHOEMAKER AWARD OF MERIT. To consist of a certificate. This award is given to each Division Chairman upon the completion of his or her term of office.

Previous Chairs:

1977-1978 Lou Thomas Baton, Rouge Morning Advocate
1978-1979 none given
1979-1980 Sandra K. Hall, Arizona Daily Star
1980-1981 Julia Vance, Newspaper Library Consultant
1981-1982 Shirley Mooney, Pacific Press Ltd.
1982-1983 Harish Tivedi, Daton Daily News
1983-1984 Barbara Semonche, Durham Herald
1984-1985 Carolyn Hardnett, Chicago Tribune Press Service
1985-1986 Kathy Foley, Washington Post
1986-1987 Diane Miller, Daily Pantagraph
1987-1988 Bob Isaacs, Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel
1988-1989 Richard Geiger, San Francisco Chronicle
1989-1990 Sharon Ostman, Orange County Register
1990-1991 Lany McDonald, Raleigh News & Observer
1991-1992 Margaret Neu, Corpus Christi Caller-Times
1992-1993 John Cronin, Boston Herald
1993-1994 Donna Scheeder, Congressional Research Service
1994-1995 Mary Kate Leming, Palm Beach Post
1995-1996 Charlie Campo, Bangor Daily News
1996-1997 Teresa G. Leonard, Raleigh News & Observer
1997-1998 Thomas M. Lutgen, Los Angeles Times
1998-1999 Carol A. Campbell, The Daily Oklahoman
1999-2000 Virginia W. Everett, Atlanta Journal Constitution
2000-2001 Debra Bade, CNN
2001-2002 Jody Habayeb, Tampa Tribune
2002-2003 Michael Jesse, The Indianapolis Star
2003-2004 Linda Henderson, Providence Journal
2004-2005 Jennifer Small Evert, LexisNexis
2005-2006 Denise Jones, The News & Observer
2006-07: Jim Hunter, Columbus Dispatch
2007-08: Justin Scroggs, Newsbank
2008-09: Ron Larson, Wisconsin State Journal

HISTORY:

Ralph J. Shoemaker (1907-1980). Librarian, Philadelphia Public Ledger. Librarian, Louisville Courier-Journal. Chairman, Newspaper Division SLA 1935-1936. Shoemaker was one of the Newspaper Divison's most prestigious pioneers. He made significant contributions to the advancement of newspaper librarianship and played an outstanding role in the development and growth of the News Division. Among his accomplishments and contributions to the profession were: the first index of subject classification and picture files (ANPA 1958); the invention of the first microfilm reader-printer and the organization of the picture library at the Pentagon during World War II.

Top

Vormelker-Thomas Student Award

Guidelines for applying for this award are available.   Applications must be e-mailed no later than Wednesday, March 4th at 5 p.m.

Originally called The Student Stipend Award, the current name is the VORMELKER-THOMAS STUDENT AWARD. Since 1977 the News Division has offered a Student Stipend Award to a graduate student interested in a career in newspaper librarianship. Originally the stipend of $200 was designed to help defray the cost of attending the SLA Annual Conference. Currently the award consists of $500 from the News Division and $1000 from ProQuest. The current name honors the memory and division work of Rose Vormelker and Lou Thomas.

Previous Winners

1978 Anita Gauthier, Durham Herald Sun News Library
1980 Gloria Colvin, Durham Herald Sun News Library
1980 Chris Kucharski, Detroit Free Press News Library
1981 Doris Hinson, Durham Herald Sun News Library
1981 Sandra Cutuli, University Reseach Library University of Cal.
1982 Reyes Vila Belda, University of California Los Angeles
1983 Patricia Ann Wood, University of North Carolina Chapel- Hill
1984 Carol E. Bjork, University of Denver
1985 Christine Malesky, Catholic University of America
1986 Elaine J. Cambell, Iowa State University
1987 Teresa G. Leonard, UNC Chapel Hill
1988 Robert I. Davidson, Florida State University
1989 Jacquelyn Cenacveira, University of South Florida
1990 Susan Hill, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1991 Maureen Morrow, Long Island University
1992 Teresa Prince, University of Michigan
1993 Julie Bolding, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
1994 Glenn Johnson-Grau, UCLA Graduate School of Library & Info Science
1995 Catherine Cino, University of Western Ont
1996 Elizabeth Larson, University of Michigan
1997 Leigh Poitinger, University of Texas at Austin
1998 Susan J. Ebbs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1998 Joanne W. Miller, University of California at Berkeley
1999 Solveig Benedikte Nes, College of Oslo, Norway
2000 Jessica Baumgart, University of Wisconsin at Madison
2001 Christine Davies, Dalhousie University
2002 Hannah Sommers, University of Texas at Austin
2003 Jennifer Klimas, University of Maryland
2004 Amy Disch, University of Wisconsin at Madison
2005 Andrea Nemetz, Dalhousie University
2006 Emily Glenn, Kent State University
2007 Sara Wedell, University of Michigan
2008 Heather Cottle, University of Missouri-Columbia
2009: Theresa Lepine, Dominican University
2010: No award given
2011: No award given
2012: No award given
2013: No award given

Top

NOTE: History notes were compiled and written by Lou Thomas. For a additional information on the awards and those they honor see: "What in the World is a Kwapil?" by Lany Walden McDonald. News Library News, Vol. XIV, No. 1,. FALL 1991, Page 16.


About the News Division
SLA News Division Home

Last Updated: 04/24/2013
Carolyn Edds
ufriverat@gmail.com