Canberra, 30 March: Former ALIA President and current CEO and State Librarian of WA Margaret Allen is the recipient of the prestigious HCL Anderson award for 2022.
This award is the highest honour that can be bestowed on an Associate Member of ALIA and recognises outstanding service to the library and information profession in Australia and to the Association.
In a career spanning more than 4 decades, Margaret Allen has made an exceptional contribution to the LIS profession and has established herself as a leader and innovator within the community.
During her time as CEO of the State Library of Western Australia (SLWA) she has been the driving force behind important initiatives including the Better Beginnings program; the Storylines Project which builds and maintains an online database of digitised heritage material from the library’s collections relating to Aboriginal history; and the Aboriginal Family History project offering training in information literacy and research skills to support clients with family history research.
Beyond these endeavours, she has also been a champion throughout her career of the importance of professional development. She has served as a member of the Curtin University Information Studies Advisory Board, a judge for ALIA’S F A Sharr Medal, and instigated a graduate program within the SLWA.
Margaret’s commitment, expertise and influence has extended beyond Australia and she has been an engaged member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) for over ten years. She was engaged in the 2012 IFLA International Leaders Programme, and served as a member of the IFLA Governing Board (2017-2109) the Copyright and other Legal Matters (CLM) Committee and the eLending Working Group. She is currently Chair of IFLA’s Public Libraries Standing Committee.
Upon learning of her award, Margaret said “I’m very honoured to be nominated for the HCL Anderson Award. It’s been an absolute privilege and pleasure to be part of this amazing profession, and I hope my contribution can continue for a while longer. There are many colleagues who I have greatly admired and some who I have had the privilege to work with who are also HCL Anderson recipients - and its humbling to be joining their ranks.”
Margaret’s nomination was supported unanimously by the Excellence Awards Panel, comprising past Presidents and Distinguished Members, and enthusiastically endorsed by the ALIA Board.We congratulate Margaret on this wonderful achievement.
About the Award
The HCL Anderson award is a biennial, peer-nominated award. The next round of nominations will open in 2024.