Squire Law Librarian Mr David Wills has been awarded the Life Membership award by the British & Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) at the Association's annual conference dinner which took place at the Principal Manchester hotel on Friday.
Life Membership is awarded to current members of BIALL who have had distinguished careers within law librarianship and who have been substantially involved with the activities of the Association.
David began his career at the Home Office Library and Information Service before joining the Squire Law Library at the University of Cambridge in 1993. He has been Squire Law Librarian since 1996 and is also a senior manager at Cambridge University Library where he is currently the Acting Head of Collection Development & Description.
Despite a busy work life he has been consistently active in BIALL for some twenty years. David hosted in Cambridge the inaugural Joint Study Institute in 1998 and has been a member, and Chair, of the Conference Committee and the Awards and Bursaries Committee, as well as a being a member of the adjudication panel for the Wallace Breem Memorial Award. He was a member of BIALL Council in 2008-2009, President Elect in 2009-2010 and was President of the Association in 2010-2011. Whilst serving as BIALL President he also became the editor of Legal Information Management (LIM) which is published quarterly by Cambridge University Press. He has recently agreed to continue in that role for a further three years.
In granting the award, current BIALL President Sandra Smythe said:
David shows considerable enthusiasm for his profession and is a great advocate for law librarianship.Sandra Smythe, BIALL President
"In addition to fulfilling a number of the most time demanding roles in BIALL, David shows considerable enthusiasm for his profession and is a great advocate for law librarianship. He is a well-liked member of our community who never loses his sense of humour and also offers encouragement and support to colleagues."
Responding to his award, David said:
"I feel very honoured to have received this recognition from the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians. I have always greatly valued my connection with the Association as well as the support of the many professional friends that I have gained through BIALL over the last 20 years."
For further information please refer to the Press Releases page of the BIALL website.