Support : Publications : Chronolog Archives : January/February 2005

2004 InfoStars: A Year in Review

Dialog InfoStar award winners are chosen for their strategic involvement in their organizations, innovative information services, proactive relationship building and continuous change and development. They are enthusiastic and positive about the value and future of information services and act as role models for creativity and innovation both inside and outside their organizations. In 2004, Dialog InfoStar awards were presented to individuals in the information professional community in Europe, Australia, Asia and North America.

In North America InfoStar Awards were presented to Michelle A. Burylo, who started the company's first Corporate Business Information Center at Air Products and Marcia Schemper-Carlock, Manager of Customer Research for Verizon Communications. A joint award was presented to Marygrace E. Record and Anitha Steventon of Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, who oversee the company's Consumer Information unit.

In the Asia Pacific region InfoStar award winners were Christine Hermann, who serves as a research librarian and co-manager of the Information Research Centre of the Australian National Audit Office in Canberra, Australia; Ann Kwee Lang Lim, Manager of the Information Resource Centre at the Defense Science Technology Agency (part of the Singapore Armed Forces); Azahar Mohd Noor, Manager of the Petroleum Resource Centre at Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Malaysia; and Vijaya Sundaram from Cairn Energy in India.

In Europe InfoStar awards were presented to Minna Abrahamsson, Information Services Manager at Nokia Corporation in Finland; Manuela Colombi, Manager of Scientific Documentation and the Pharmacovigilance Service in the medical department at Janssen-Cilag SpA, Italy; and Christine Cameron, European Medical Information Manager heading the Hematology Business Unit for Novo Nordisk UK.

See below for a description of each winner's accomplishments.

Christine Hermann of the Australian National Audit Office in Canberra serves as a research librarian and co-manager of ANAO's Information Research Center. Before joining the government agency in 1994, she worked at the Supreme Court of Victoria Library (Melbourne), Telecom Australia (Clayton, Victoria), the Australian Bibliographic Network (Canberra) and the National Library of Australia (Canberra). Hermann holds both a master of arts in Librarianship, a bachelor of science with honors from Monash University, and has also completed additional graduate work at Monash

Ann Kwee Lang Lim is Manager of the Information Resource Center at the Defense Science Technology Agency (part of the Singapore Armed Forces). In addition to research, Lim's responsibilities include strategic goal setting, budgeting and managing ties with vendors, both in Singapore and internationally. Lim holds a master of science (Information Studies) from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and a bachelor of economics from the University of Newcastle in Australia. She has lectured on information systems and research, and has volunteered for medical missions in Indonesia and Cambodia.

Vijaya Sundaram joined Cairn Energy in 1997, when the company began operations in India, as the first member of the library, overseeing the setting up of the information management team into the group of eight staff that it is now. Vijaya has continuously developed and rolled out various information initiatives, including her department's intranet — "IM InfoBank," which provides access to key geological and exploration-related content directly to the desktops, as well as proactively selling the information service across the organization and to senior management. The Chief Executive of Cairn Energy recently recognized this achievement when he acknowledged that the company's phenomenal success in exploration has been due to the high-quality scientific team in place, effectively assisted by the information management team. Vijaya is an active member of the largest and oldest library association in South India, the Madras Library Association (MALA), and is currently Secretary.

Minna Abrahamsson's promotion last spring to her position of Information Services Manager, with global responsibility for Library Services in Nokia Corporation after just 4 years was for her the culmination of her efforts to develop and promote herself as one of the younger breed of information professionals in Finland. She brings an open and fresh outlook to professional skills development with her willingness to embrace new ideas and to encourage initiative and innovation in her colleagues. Minna's particular strength lies in reinventing herself as an academic librarian to a professional with enough of a business mindset to secure a job at Nokia Corporation. She is a strong advocate of networking and the power of relationship building within organizations and professional groups in order to achieve her goals.

Manuela Colombi, Manager of Scientific Documentation and the Pharmacovigilance Service in the medical department of Janssen-Cilag SpA, Italy, a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies, has been in the profession for many years and as a consequence is now considered a font of knowledge and experience in the information professional community in Italy. In her role as Documentation Manager, she coordinates all of Janssen-Cilag SpA's information procurement. Colombi uses her influence to good effect and is a founder member of GIDIF - GRUPPO ITALIANO DOCUMENTALISTI DELL'INDUSTRIA FARMACEUTICA E DEGLI ISTITUTI DI RICERCA BIOMEDICA (Italian Group of Information Professionals in the Pharma Industry), as well as being past president of the board of EAHIL, the European Association for Health Information and Libraries.

Azahar Mohd Noor has been at Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Malaysia as Manager of the Petroleum Resource Center for over 17 years. Over the years he has demonstrated outstanding leadership capabilities in his organization and is responsible for the overall operations of his department. He also contributes his expertise to the Petronas University, a private university owned by his company. As a measure of his influence and expertise, in 2003, the PETRONAS Chairman, Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin, appointed Azahar to set up the Perdana Library for the newly established Perdana Leadership Foundation. The Perdana Library is a resource center for the foundation which is dedicated to Malaysian leadership and national development. The library provides integrated information services and has a collection of past policies, strategies and initiatives adopted under various prime ministers, and which may be used as a knowledge bank of models for development in other nations.

Christine Cameron has over 15 years experience in the information industry. In 2003, she was recruited to work for Novo Nordisk UK, where she is European Medical Information Manager heading the Haematology Business Unit. Prior to that, she held departmental head positions at Serono and Elan. Christina's influence in the pharmaceutical information sector is extensive and she is a past president of the UK's Association of Information Officers in the Pharmaceutical Industry (AIOPI). Christine has never been one to wait for things to happen and is known for championing change and innovation in the industry. Her objective is to promote and drive the role of the "new" information professional within her industry and she takes pride in forging alliances both with suppliers and users of information.

North America Winner Portraits

Michelle A. Burylo joined Air Products in 1975 to start the company's first Corporate Business Information Center. Now part of the Information & Library Services Department (ILS), the unit provides services and solutions for the company's executives and business groups, including reference services, analysis, consulting, information agent support and development of various end-user subject guides for the ILS Web site. She says that she is "fearless and shameless in promoting ILS," working to find new ways to market the department's services across her company. "One of my most important roles is to be an advocate for my company's information needs," she says. Burylo earned her undergraduate degree in Library Science at Kutztown University and holds a Master of Library Science from Drexel University.

Marcia Schemper-Carlock has more than 20 years of experience in corporate research. Prior to her current position as Manager of Customer Research for Verizon Communications, she worked for Raytheon, Texas Instruments and Compaq. Schemper-Carlock has a particular expertise in exploring new research tools and services as she looks for ways to integrate them into her company's workflow and bolster its strategic business decision-making. She designed and implemented a customized research tracking system for logging incoming research requests, a process that helps her department analyze and measure its effectiveness. "We work hard to earn and maintain a solid reputation for exceptional customer service by focusing our research teams on delivering bottom-line results," she says. Schemper-Carlock is active in the Special Libraries Association Texas Chapter and has served as president of the Music Library Association, Texas Chapter. She holds a Master of Library Science from the State University of New York (Geneseo), a Master of Arts in Music from the University of Iowa, and an undergraduate degree in Library Science and Music from Northwestern College.

In an unusual move, Dialog this year presented a joint award to colleagues from the same company, Marygrace E. Record and Anitha Steventon of Wyeth Consumer Healthcare. Both oversee the company's Consumer Information unit and are active in departmental strategy setting and marketing its services across their division. The two created an innovative current awareness process to track and distribute news that impacts the company's businesses and constituents. The two also recently organized an InfoFair to increase awareness of information resources available to employees. Before joining Wyeth, Record worked for Merck Research Laboratories, Harvard Medical School's Conway Library of Medicine and Hoffman LaRoche Inc. She holds both a Master of Library Science and an undergraduate degree from Rutgers University. Steventon previously worked for Merck-Medco and Allied Signal Inc. She also holds a Master of Library Science from Rutgers. She did additional post-baccalaureate work in chemistry at Kean University, where she also earned her undergraduate degree.

top