Amanda Bielskas, Director of Science, Engineering, and Social Science Libraries, was selected as the 2025 recipient of the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award. Amanda will be honored at an awards ceremony on October 30, 2025, during the virtual GSIS annual meeting. The award recognizes significant contributions to the geoscience information community.

Amanda has worked at Columbia since 2007, and she has held several positions prior to her current role as Director of Science, Engineering, and Social Science Libraries, including Geology and Geoscience Librarian. Amanda was also recently elected to the GeoScienceWorld Board of Directors, thanks to her expertise in geoscience. Amanda has been active in GSIS since she joined the organization in 2009 and currently serves as Newsletter Co-Editor and Instructor in the session, “Collection Development in Geoscience Librarianship 101.” Past roles include Vice President, President, Immediate Past President, and work on several GSIS committees.

Numerous peers at GSIS commented on her “patience and intelligence as well as her willingness to volunteer her time and expertise for the benefit of her GSIS colleagues.” Others praised her “commitment to professional service through her work in GSIS” and her “sense of humor and easygoing nature” that create a welcoming work environment. Collectively, the award committee is “exceptionally pleased to add Amanda to our list of GSIS Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service awardees.”

“I’m honored to receive the Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award from the Geoscience Information Society,” Bielskas said. “I have gotten a lot out of being a member of the society and learned so much from my colleagues there. I have been happy to contribute back to the organization and to share my knowledge and expertise in hopes that others have found what I have shared helpful to them in one way or another. It has been a pleasure to work with my colleagues in the GSIS over the years, and I thank them for this recognition of service to the profession.”