Kevin Miles - ESLY 1999

sponsored by the Gale Group

The winner of the Special Libraries Association’s (SLA) European Special Librarian of the Year Award for 1999 is Kevin Miles, Information Manager with Surrey Police.

The award, sponsored this year by the Gale Group seeks to recognise outstanding achievement in special librarianship in Europe.

Kevin Miles is a serving Inspector with Surrey Police. Having followed a traditional operational career for 20 years, he recently introduced the concept of Information Resources Management to the Force. In his current post of Information Manager he has developed various initiatives that seek to make more effective use of information already held by Surrey Police. As a result the Force has deliberately committed time and resources to understanding the nature of their information resources, and how they should be managed, and are now building upon these concepts to deliver information systems that are both cost and information efficient.

The official presentation of the award took place at the 90th SLA Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday 7 June during the SLA European Chapter afternoon reception.

Heather Taylor, Marketing and Communications Manager , Europe at the Gale Group said: ‘ The European office of the Gale Group is very pleased to be associated with this prestigious award, which recognises the importance of the role of the information professional. Kevin has taken this one step further by highlighting the value of the actual information to his employers, and by developing initiatives to ensure that it is put to more effective and strategic use. This greater awareness of the value of information benefits everyone .’

Michelle Darraugh, Chair of the European Chapter of the SLA said: “Putting knowledge and information at the heart of all organisations is what the SLA is all about. We are delighted to be working with the Gale Group to ensure that Kevin’s innovative and creative work is recognised globally”.

Phil Scutchings, Director of Information Services, Surrey Police added: “The international recognition of Surrey Police as a leader in the field of Knowledge and Information Management is directly related to Kevin’s innovative work. The combination of Information Management and Information Technology we have achieved has enabled us to make a strategic change to the way in which we run the business”.

Ten Years of the ESLY award by Sylvia James