UND EERC librarian wins national award

Rosemary Pleva Flynn led team compiling hundreds of terms, thousands of citations over six-year project

Rosemary Pleva Flynn, principal librarian and archivist at the UND Energy & Environmental Research Center, chairs an archivists group which received a Council Exemplary Service Award from her professional association, the Society of American Archivists (SAA).

The SAA Dictionary Working Group, chaired by Flynn, received the award for compiling and launching the Dictionary of Archives Terminology. They worked for more than six years to add hundreds of new terms and thousands of citations from more than 600 sources. The Dictionary of Archives Terminology is a comprehensive and evolving resource that provides open access to archival terms at dictionary.archivists.org.

The award was created by the Society of American Archivists Council in 1980 to recognize a special contribution to the archives profession, and especially to SAA, that is not eligible for one of the other awards given by the Society. It is given on an occasional basis at the discretion of the Council or upon recommendation to the Council by the Awards Committee.

“Constructing a dictionary is a lot of work and a labor of love, especially since we are all volunteers,” Flynn said. “It would not have come together without a lot of teamwork. I have immensely enjoyed working with my colleagues around the country who have been members of the working group or who have offered feedback on our work and suggestions for new terms. And, since dictionaries are never finished, I’ve signed up for another four year term. It really is that much fun!”

Flynn has been with the UND EERC for 18 years and also serves as team lead for Library & Information Services at the EERC. Her professional experiences and training in libraries, archives, and records management, is an asset to the EERC with its unique research information needs.

The working group created the online only dictionary, drawing from the Society’s previous dictionary, A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology, by Richard Pearce-Moses (SAA, 2005), and expanding it in ways only available in an online platform. They expanded the connections made for each entry and added hyperlinks to take users directly to related terms. They also added entries to one or more of 34 categories to provide additional context for individual entries as well as provide users with the ability to view all terms within a particular topic.

“One of the EERC’s core values is to be engaged,” said EERC CEO Charles Gorecki. “Rosemary’s dedication to volunteering her time for creating this dictionary is a great example of being engaged in one’s professional community. “We are proud of her accomplishments!”