The 2007 Emmett Leahy Award Committee is pleased to announce that the Emmett Leahy Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Information and Records Management Profession was presented to Anne Thurston, Director of the International Records Management Trust, at the Annual Business Meeting of the Institute of Certified Records Managers on October 7, 2007. The Emmett Leahy Award honors Emmett Leahy, an icon in the development of the lifecycle approach to managing records and information.
The Emmett Leahy Award Committee selected Anne Thurston because of her sustained campaign over more than three decades to introduce major records management programs in more than thirty developing countries. These programs introduced new frameworks for managing official records, including new laws, organizational structures, records centre facilities, control systems and archival procedures. She solicited millions of dollars to fund these programs by linking strong records management programs with good governance, including protecting civil and human rights, reducing poverty, controlling corruption, and strengthening democracy.
After a distinguished career on the Faculty of the School of Library, Archive and Information Studies at University College London, where she introduced hundreds of students from dozens of countries across the world to records management programs tied to good governance, Anne Thurston established the International Records Management Trust. The Trust supports governments in developing and integrating strategies, structures and programs for managing records to underpin national objectives for accountability, transparency and services to citizen and providing training materials and analytical tools free of charge to support records professionals in developing countries.
In conjunction with the International Council on Archives the Trust developed The Management of Public Sector Records Study Programme to provide relevant educational material to records staff in developing countries where training courses and training materials are not easily accessible. This study material, which comprises more than 4,000 pages is available through the Trust’s website without charge.
The 2007 Emmett Leahy Award Committee believes that Anne Thurston’s outstanding contributions to the Information and Records Management Profession epitomize the spirit of excellence and innovation of Emmett Leahy.
Additional information about the history of the Emmett Leahy Award and previous recipients of the award can be found at Leahy Award web site.
