This honor roll for Illinois libraries serves the dual purpose of recognizing outstanding voices in the library community, while creating a legacy through the ILA Endowment to continue their important work.
2011
Kathleen Balcom
In her thirty-seven-year career as a public librarian, Balcom has been an innovator. She was the director of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library for fifteen years, leading the library through numerous renovations and expansions that nearly doubled the size of the building, making it one of the state's largest.
In 1987, Balcom was elected president of ALA's Public Library Association. She served on the advisory committee for PLA's new long-range planning process. She served as a speaker, a regional trainer and a consultant to area libraries in using the program. She was elected to the ALA Council at-large, as the PLA division councilor, and as the ILA chapter councilor.
In 1997, Balcom was elected President of ILA and led the association during a time of financial crisis. She helped ILA develop a long-range plan, raised funds to continue the association's advocacy program, and helped establish a capital reserve fund to improve financial stability in the future.
Balcom was selected as a mentor for the first national Snowbird Leadership Institute and the first Illinois Synergy Leadership Initiative. Upon her retirement, the Arlington Heights Board of Library Trustees established a scholarship in her honor to assist employees seeking to earn a library degree. In 2004, she was honored as ILA's Librarian of the Year and was given the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the North Suburban Library System.
Inducted November 10, 2011
John W. Berry
Berry’s thirty-six-year career in librarianship, spent almost entirely in Illinois, has included work for the University Libraries of Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago and service as the executive director for the Library Administration and Management Association of the American Library Association.
He is perhaps best known, however, as the executive director of NILRC, the Network of Illinois Learning Resources in Community Colleges, where for almost 15 years, he managed with distinction and dedication a fifty-member learning resources consortium of community colleges, colleges, and universities in Illinois and Missouri. His current role as a professor of librarianship at Dominican University is again another example of his giving nature in support of new librarians.
Berry served as president of the American Library Association from 2001 to 2002 and advanced the cause of library recruitment as one of his important presidential initiatives. In April of 2002, he led a national town hall meeting where he gathered library leaders from around the country to address the need of our profession to recruit enough of the best and the brightest to librarianship.
Berry has always been able to inspire members through his quiet and professional leadership. He is well spoken and articulate on a wide variety of subjects, especially so as it relates to libraries.
Inducted February 11, 2011
Alphonse F. Trezza, 1920-2009
Alphonse F. Trezza was a pioneer in library leadership in the state of Illinois and the nation. As director of the Illinois State Library from 1970 to 1975, he fostered resource sharing among libraries and oversaw the establishment of multi-type cooperative library systems, still recognized as one of the best models for service in the country.
Trezza also served as executive director of the Catholic Library Association; associate executive director of the American Library Association; executive secretary of ALA’s Library Administrative Division (now the Library Association and Management Association); and executive director of the United States National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, where he masterminded the early planning for the White House Conference on Library and Information Services; and professor of the Florida State University School of Library and Information Studies.
His many accolades and awards include the Librarian’s Citation (1974) and Special Librarian’s Citation (1965) from the Illinois Library Association; Honorary Membership (2007), Joseph W. Lippincott Award (1989) and Exceptional Achievement Award of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (1981) from the American Library Association; Outstanding Alumnus Award (1963) from Drexel Graduate School of Library Science; and Professor Emeritus status (1993) upon his retirement from Florida State University.
Inducted February, 11 2011
Sylvia Murphy Williams, 1962-2003
Sylvia Murphy Williams, former ILA President and director of the Dundee Township Public Library, was a visionary leader whose impact on Illinois libraries was profound. Her untimely death in 2003 prompted the formation of the Sylvia Murphy Williams Scholarship Fund that continues to support Illinois recipients of the ALA Spectrum Scholarships.
Williams graduated from DePaul University in 1983 and received her graduate degree in 1993 from Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science. She began working at the Dundee Township Public Library District in 1995 and previously worked at the Palatine Public Library District (1990-1995) and DePaul University (1980-1990).
She joined ILA in 1993 and was active on both the Membership Committee (1997-1999) and the Cultural and Racial Diversity Committee (1999-2000) before being elected Vice-President/President-Elect in 2001. When she assumed the presidency in 2002, she made it a priority to fight against legislation that would constrain intellectual freedom and privacy.
Williams was also a member of the American Library Association and Public Library Association. Sylvia was a special mentor, a colleague, and precious friend to many. She was radiant. She was so full of life and excitement about her family and her profession that she always graciously welcomed and encouraged others. Her vibrant personality, great sense of humor, and stunning sense of style are still sorely missed.
Inducted February 11, 2011
Vandella Brown
As the recipient of Illinois Library Association's 2010 Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial/DEMCO Award, Vandella Brown has been recognized for her outstanding service to libraries and librarians in Illinois.
Brown was instrumental in developing the Illinois State Library's Diversity Program, which presents nearly forty programs each year. Her work with ILA's Cultural and Racial Diversity Committee has been instrumental in broadening the association's reach, awareness, and membership. She was one of the founding mentors of Synergy: The Library Leadership Initiative, and has worked with libraries to present cultural heritage events in their communities.
Brown has served as the Illinois State Library's ILLINET-OCLC Services director, director of the East St. Louis Public Library, and on the staff of the Columbus Metropolitan Public Library (Ohio) and the Memphis/Shelby County Public Library (Tennessee). She received her Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Iowa.
In 1977 she received recognition for her research contributing to Alex Haley's Roots, the television series. In 1997 her article, "African American Fiction: A Slamming Genre," was published by the American Library Association, and she is the author and contributor to several books including Celebrating the Family: Steps to Planning a Family Reunion and Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook.
Inducted February 3, 2011
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