News Library News Online
Vol. 22, No. 3/Spring 2000

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Congratulations to the Winners of the Henebry Award 
Linda HendersonLinda Henderson is a native of Oneida, New York. She received her BA from St. Lawrence University and an MLS from Rutgers University.

Linda's first news library job was at the Courier News, a Gannett paper in central New Jersey.

"I got the job by answering an ad in the paper and had no clue what to do. So I read the copy of 'Guidelines for Newspaper Libraries' that I found in the library and started in," Linda said.  An interesting aside: "I just looked at our copy here to make sure I got the title right and realized that the 1983 edition was dedicated to Agnes Henebry!"

After six years, Linda said she could not afford that job any longer, so she accepted a position in the information research center at AT&T. She described this time as a "briefcase and bow tie corporate episode which lasted two of the longest years of my life."

In 1986, she answered an ad in E&P, and became Joe Mehr's assistant at the Providence Journal. When Joe retired in 1991, Linda took over the library and has been running the place ever since.

She said the Journal is a great place to work and "Rhode Island is a fun place to live. News breaks out all the time - scandals, organized crime and other mayhem - it's a veritable theme park for journalists."

Linda's leisure time is spent mostly in renovating her 100-yr-old farmhouse and its gardens. Other interests include needlework, antiquing, skiing and reading (Parker, Hiaasen, Leonard et al).  She has been a member of the News division for 20 years, attending her first conference in Atlanta. She has served the division as Bylaws chair, editor of News Library News, Secretary and as a member of the awards committee (Seattle). She is on the Strategic Planning committee.
 

Robert H. Jansen, aka Minnesota Bob, Bob Jansenis a native Minnesotan and has been Library Director at the Minneapolis Star Tribune since 1981.

Bob began his adult education with military service. According to his own testimony, the somewhat shy and reticent fellow admitted he served "with distinction, heroism and bravery in the United States Air Force and was decorated for wit and humor."

He received a BA in American History from Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota, and a BS in Journalism from the University of Oregon. Then he knuckled down, got serious and attained his MLS, also from the University of Oregon.

Bob began working at the Star Tribune in 1978 as a classifier / researcher. He was assistant librarian from 1979 to 1981, when he accepted his present position.

He has been a member of the Special Libraries Association since 1979. He served as chairperson of the News Division's Automation Committee from 1980 to 1982 and 1987 through 1988.

Minnesota Bob's handling of the host duties during the 1999 conference in Minneapolis was reported as "extraordinary."  "I've never known a host who did more or who did it so agreeably," proclaimed an impressed member.

His professional presentations began with a 1980 session on "Newsroom Education, Acceptance and Use of a Full-Text System," and have continued through the years, including one on the "Mission/Vision for Newspaper Librarians" at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

On a personal note, Bob is married and has one son, Christopher. Bob's leisure time is spent golfing, playing tennis and birdwatching. He said he spends a lot of time birdwatching. He is not interested in comments about his hobbies.
 
Minnesota Bob was designated World's Strongest Librarian in 1998. When asked about this, he said it came about after he threw "43 librarians over the top rope at the Hoosier Dome during the 1998 Indianapolis convention."

No further details were available.  


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