Australian Medical Librarian, Jan Weaver, Wins Information Professional Award Sponsored by Thomson Reuters

Award Honors Information Industry Achievement in Australia and New Zealand

Philadelphia, PA, June 2008 – Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business and professionals, has announced that Jan Weaver, Medical Librarian at Deakin University, was named the 2008 Information Professional of the Year by the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Australia and New Zealand Chapter. The announcement was made during the SLA conference on June 16 in Seattle, WA.

The annual award, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, is given to an information professional who has displayed great achievement in their career. The award will be presented to Weaver at a special SLA event hosted by the Australia and New Zealand Chapter in September, where she will also receive a cash prize of AUD$2,000.

“We are pleased to honor Jan as the 2008 Information Professional of the Year. With tremendous effort and skill, she was able to quickly set up new medical library facilities in time for the opening of a high profile medical school,” said Sonya Donoghue, Past President of the SLA Australia and New Zealand Chapter. “Her ability to gather the right resources while forging strong relationships with other partner health services, clinical schools, and medical library and information services is exemplary and something that the profession can celebrate.”

Weaver was employed by Deakin University Library in July 2007 as its first Medical Librarian. Her role was to establish and develop a medical and health sciences library collection and learning space at the university’s Geelong Campus in support of the new School of Medicine. With her extensive background in information services, Weaver was able to successfully build world-class library collections and services to support the medical students.

“I am impressed with the outstanding work Jan has accomplished in such a short time frame and am proud to recognize her achievements with this award,” said Liz Blankson-Hemans, Director, Information Professional Development. “Her ability to quickly establish a specialist library collection exemplifies her commitment to ensuring the right resources are available within the Deakin University community.”

The award is open to information professionals, such as public, corporate and government librarians, independent information consultants, knowledge managers and others, working and living in Australia or New Zealand. A panel of SLA Australia and New Zealand board members and Thomson Reuters management determine the winner.

The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters provides information and knowledge to accelerate research, discovery and innovation. Our authoritative, accurate and timely information is essential for drug companies to discover new drugs and get them to market faster; researchers to find relevant papers and know what’s newly published in their subject; and businesses to optimize their intellectual property and find competitive intelligence. We create the research platforms and services of the future that will power our customers toward business and personal success.