Sylvia Lee, WCCLS Automation Supervisor, recipient of 11th Annual International Beacon Award

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Washington County, Oregon: The Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) is pleased to announce that Sylvia Lee, the WCCLS Automation Supervisor, has been awarded the 11th annual Beacon Award from the Innovative Users Group (IUG). The IUG was founded in 1991 as an international organization of member libraries who use the Innovative Interfaces' integrated library software to meet the needs of their local library patrons. The IUG is an independent member driven organization from Innovative Interfaces, Inc.

Since 2007, IUG presents at their annual conference a Beacon Award to honor exceptional service by a member through presentations, collaboration, selfless dedication to libraries as a whole, and sage advice to others through their IUG list or forum.

According to 2016/17 IUG Chair, Eeva Stierwalt (of the London Public Library in Ontario, Canada), on behalf of the IUG Steering Committee, "it was our honor and pleasure to present our 11th Beacon Award to Sylvia Lee at our 24th Annual IUG Conference. Sylvia was a founding member of the Polaris Users Group, served as Chair of that group for two terms, developed the group's enhancements process and mentored the members for years. Sylvia continues to contribute selflessly as she joins the inaugural Polaris ILS Advisory Committee of the Innovative Users Group. The award this year coincided with the union of the two users groups into one IUG and Sylvia Lee is the first award winner to come from the Polaris ILS membership. We welcome her and look forward to her continued contribution and commitment to excellence."

According the IUG membership chose the lighthouse as a symbol for the award to recognize the exceptional service to the Innovative Users Community. It symbolizes Inspiration, Navigation, Illumination, and Protection. While a great implementation is the product of a great employee, the IUG Beacon Award acknowledges great community members - people who help others attain greatness and share the knowledge that they have gained in the process.

"We are exceptionally proud of Sylvia's accomplishments and contributions. Through her experience leading the WCCLS Automation team over the last eight years, and from her previous experience leading a three county library consortium in Southern Oregon, she has been an ardent advocate for the needs of member libraries and library users. Working through the users' group she has helped assure that the software that manages our library catalog and circulation functions meets our needs. She has always been willing to share her expertise with other library systems, answer their questions and mentor her colleagues. It is nice to have her peers recognize her in this manner," notes Eva Calcagno, WCCLS Director.

The Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) includes the Banks Public Library, Beaverton City Library (and Murray Scholls branch), Cedar Mill Community Library (and Bethany branch), Cornelius Public Library, Forest Grove City Library, Garden Home Community Library, Hillsboro Public Libraries (Main and Shute Park), North Plains Public Library, Sherwood Public Library, Tigard Public Library, Tualatin Public Library, West Slope Community Library, and the WCCLS Outreach to Homebound. The Aloha Community Library becomes a WCCLS member library in July 2016.

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