ASIS&T 2014 award of merit acceptance speech. Issue 3 (13th April 2015) - Hlava, Marge
Abstract : EDITOR'S SUMMARY Accepting ASIS&T's Award of Merit for 2014, Marge Hlava retraced numerous influences on her information science career, starting with the radio broadcast of the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik propelling science education. She applied her master's degree in biology to information science and beta testing of early telecommunications systems. In 1978 Hlava started her own company, Access Innovations, and has provided information services for over 2, 000 projects over the course of 36 years, despite earthquakes, hurricanes and collapsed roofs. The company develops controlled vocabularies and enriches data with metadata to enhance search and retrieval. Through her years with ASIS&T, Hlava has observed academics, managers and entrepreneurs at Association meetings, each with distinct goals, but notes an increasingly academic focus with real‐life applications more likely to be seen at ASIS&T's IA Summit. She urged more pure research as well as work on practical applications with large‐scale data sets. In closing Hlava thanked the many individuals who supported her along the way.