Alumni Board Recognizes Martha Earl as 2006 Distinguished Alumni
The School of Information Sciences Alumni Board honored Martha Earl with
the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award. SIS Alumni Board President Margaret
Casado announced the award at the SIS Alumni & Friends Day, March 11, at
the university’s McClung Museum. Earl, a 1985 graduate, is Reference
Coordinator at the UT Preston Medical Library in Knoxville.
A consummate librarian, she has worked in academic and special libraries
continuously since 1980. Tena Litherland stated in her nomination letter
that “few graduates from the School of Information Sciences have so
tirelessly worked for Tennessee libraries and its professional associations
as has Martha Earl.” Indeed, Earl gives reliable and committed service to
several library organizations—and serves or has served in leadership
positions in the Medical Library Association, the Tennessee Health Sciences
Libraries Association, TennShare, and the Tennessee Advisory Council on
Libraries, among others. She is a Distinguished Member of the Academy of
Health Information Professionals.
Martha Earl is a long-term and dedicated member of the Tennessee Library
Association, having served as President in 1998-99, and in other capacities
on the Board of Directors and Conference Committees.
Throughout her professional career, Earl has not only demonstrated
excellence in publishing, teaching, and service to the profession, she has
raised the bar for other librarians. At the SIS Alumni & Friends Day,
Earl thanked her mentor, Janet Fisher, with whom she worked at Quillen
College of Medicine Library at East Tennessee State University.
“Janet Fisher told me that the best way to repay her for her guidance
over the years was to mentor other librarians along the way,” said Earl.
“It’s very important to give back to the profession and to Tennessee
libraries. Leadership is service.”
Martha Earl’s career reads like a road map, linking one success to the
next. She has authored or co-authored over 20 peer reviewed articles,
including articles in American Libraries, and she gives frequent
presentations for local health and consumer groups, and at state and
regional library conferences. In short, Martha Earl works tirelessly to
improve access to health information for librarians, consumers, and health
professionals in Tennessee, and her visibility and energy redefine and give
meaning to the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award program.
Visit the SIS Distinguished Alumni Award website for more information.
