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From: "Donna J. Foote" <[log in to unmask]> 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2014 8:23:57 AM 
Subject: [GEONET] Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award 

Lura Joseph Named 2014 Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award Recipient 


Lura Joseph, Content Access and Research Services Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), is the 2014 recipient of the Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award given by the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS). From 2001 to 2012 she served as the Geology and Digital Projects Librarian at UIUC. 

The award was established in 2005 through the generous support of Ms. Ansari, Director Emerita for Branch Libraries and Administrative Services at the University of Nevada-Reno and President of the Geoscience Information Society in 1990. 
Over the past twenty years, Lura has consistently made the significant contributions to geoscience information that the award recognizes. Lura’s long record of professional activity and research reflects a deep understanding of, and thoughtful concern for, the future of library collections, bibliography, and geoscience information. 

Lura led the Geoscience Information Society as president from 2003-2004. She has served GSIS in many other ways since joining in 1993. In 2004 she edited the GSIS Proceedings, Geoscience information horizons: Challenges, choices, and decisions . For several years she was an instructor in the Geoscience 101 course offered to new geoscience librarians. She also served as chair of the Archival Committee and GSIS representative to the GeoRef Advisory Committee of the American Geological Institute. 

Field trip guidebooks are Lura’s true passion. She has been the driving force on the GSIS Guidebooks Committee for many years. She helped revise the “Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Publishers of Geologic Field Trip Guidebooks” as a member of the Guidebooks Standards Subcommittee. Her dedication to maintaining, improving, and contributing to the Union List of Field Trip Guidebooks and the Geologic Guidebooks of North America database is well known among her peers. She devoted a sabbatical leave to researching and documenting guidebooks from many organizations. Lura continues to be a vocal advocate for the recognition of the value of guidebooks to the geoscience literature. 

If guidebooks are Lura’s true passion, conducting research on topics of immediate and practical application to the library community is a close second. She is the author of nine peer-reviewed journal articles. Two of those articles received the Best Paper Award from GSIS. Her first award-winning article, “Image and figure quality: A study of Elsevier’s Earth and Planetary Sciences electronic journal back file package,” was published in 2006 in Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services . One of her colleagues said of her research, “Faithful to her scientific training, she diligently assembles the relevant data, rationally analyzes them, and clearly and logically presents the results which emerge. The results of Lura’s seminal study objectively demonstrated cause for concern and reiterated to the publishing, research, and library communities the critical importance of quality in preserving the scientific record in the digital age.” Lura has authored several book chapters, written numerous book reviews, and made presentations at conferences, institutes, and workshops around the country. 

Lura received both a Master of Science degree in Geology and a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from the University of Oklahoma. Her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology was also earned from OU. 

Lura will receive the award at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Geoscience Information Society/Geological Society of America in Vancouver in October. 


2014 Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award Committee 
Louise Deis 
Jody Foote (chair) 
Clara McLeod 










Jody Bales Foote 
Mr. and Mrs. Laurence S. Youngblood 
Chair for Energy (Geology) Librarian 
Youngblood Energy (Geology) Library 
University of Oklahoma 
Norman, OK 73019 
405-325-6451