 This year's letter is part eulogy, part tribute, part lament, and part thanks ец all addressed to Sylvia Murphy Williams, who led the Illinois Library Association throughout much of this past year, and who was tragically taken from all of our lives in March 2003. She was an inspiration tothose of us who knew her and to many who never had the chance to meet her in person.
For ILA members, she was a president to admire, a colleague to exchange information with,
a librarian who'd risen through the ranks, and one who would always lend a helping hand.
Whether the occasion was delivering a keynote address at the Reaching Forward conference,
testifying before the state legislature, or chairing a board or committee meeting, Sylvia was gracious, well-informed, generous with her time, and clear in her convictions.
From her days as a page at the DePaul Law University Library to her position as director of the Dundee Township Public Library District, Sylvia climbed a ladder of increasing responsibility. For her, the journey was as important as the destination. In a 1998 issue of the ILA Reporter, she said, "I did not become successful when I became a library director. I was successful every time I reached one of my goals, every time I did my best."
You can download the Annual Report for 2002-2003 in pdf format, which requires Acrobat Reader to view. If you don't already have it, you can get it here for free.
More Annual Reports are available - see the menu in the left column.
| 
