The founder director of the AIT Library and Regional Information Center,, has been honored with the Melvil Dewey Medal by the American Library Association (ALA). The award was presented at the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco, California, USA on 28 June 2015.
Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee (image courtesy ALA)
“Dr. Lee’s many achievements during a long and distinguished career
were well described by one nominator as ‘inspirational, transformative,
innovative, and enduring,’” said Winston Tabb, chair of the Dewey Medal
jury. “This annual award consisting of a bronzed medal and a 24k
gold-framed citation of achievement for recent creative leadership of
high order, particularly in those fields in which Melvil Dewey was
actively interested: library management, library training, cataloging
and classification, and the tools and techniques of librarianship,” ALA
said. Named after Melvil Dewey, the founder of the Dewey Decimal
Classification and a founding member of the ALA, the annual award is
presented by ALA, and sponsored by Online Computer Library Center
(OCLC).Among his many associations with AIT, Dr. Lee was the founder Director
of the AIT Library and Regional Information Center. Her Royal Highness
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn had granted him an audience at the
Royal Palace in 2001. Dr. Lee was the first to offer his advice, and
later accepted to be a Honorary Adviser to the AIT Library
Modernization campaign. He has also reviewed the modernization plan and
expressed his full support on AIT's timely plan to modernize its
library (http://modernlibrary.ait.ac.th/)Dr. Lee has also served as Chief of the Asian Division of the Library
of Congress, United States, and as Dean, Ohio University
Libraries.
were well described by one nominator as ‘inspirational, transformative,
innovative, and enduring,’” said Winston Tabb, chair of the Dewey Medal
jury. “This annual award consisting of a bronzed medal and a 24k
gold-framed citation of achievement for recent creative leadership of
high order, particularly in those fields in which Melvil Dewey was
actively interested: library management, library training, cataloging
and classification, and the tools and techniques of librarianship,” ALA
said. Named after Melvil Dewey, the founder of the Dewey Decimal
Classification and a founding member of the ALA, the annual award is
presented by ALA, and sponsored by Online Computer Library Center
(OCLC).Among his many associations with AIT, Dr. Lee was the founder Director
of the AIT Library and Regional Information Center. Her Royal Highness
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn had granted him an audience at the
Royal Palace in 2001. Dr. Lee was the first to offer his advice, and
later accepted to be a Honorary Adviser to the AIT Library
Modernization campaign. He has also reviewed the modernization plan and
expressed his full support on AIT's timely plan to modernize its
library (http://modernlibrary.ait.ac.th/)Dr. Lee has also served as Chief of the Asian Division of the Library
of Congress, United States, and as Dean, Ohio University
Libraries.
News from OCLC:
https://www.oclc.org/news/announcements/2015/sixlibrariansreceiveawardssponsoredbyOCLC.en.html
Video from award ceremony: https://youtu.be/RGNN3KFn29I
Video on the life of Dr Lee: https://youtu.be/2w7qjXQPbhE
(AIT features from 8:10 minutes onwards)
Screengrab
from the video of the ALA award conference.