Berman to Receive Minnesota
Distinguished Service Award
In a gesture that adds more irony to the tale of Sanford Berman’s contentious resignation from the Hennepin County (Minn.) Library System, the Minnesota Library Association will present Berman with its 1999 Distinguished Service Award “for active and innovative leadership in the development of libraries and the improvement of library services.” The award will be presented September 30 at the MLA annual conference in Duluth.
A nationally recognized cataloging innovator, Berman was nominated for the award by Walt Dunlap, director of the Fergus Falls Public Library, and selected from a list of nominees by a committee of MLA members, chaired by Mary Martin, director of the School of Divinity library at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul..
Following an involuntary reassignment and reprimand for “counterproductive behavior,” Berman submitted his resignation as Hennepin’s head cataloger April 23. In June he was named the first winner of the Sandy Berman Award for Social Responsibility in Library Services by AFSCME Locals 2822 and 2864, the unions that represent the library’s nonsupervisory and support staff.
Posted September 13, 1999.
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