The EAHIL Award of 2020 was presented by EAHIL President Maurella Della Seta in the closing ceremony of the EAHIL 2020 Online conference.

The award was posthumously given to Shane Godbolt (1943-2019) in recognition for her immense contribution to international health librarianship.

Shane passed away in November 2019, but with awareness of the gravity of her illness, the Board made the exceptional decision to give Shane the award early so that she could know of our deep appreciation while she was still alive.

So this announcement is made posthumously, but Shane is still very much with us in the legacy she has left: she was extraordinary in her energy and dedication to the development of the profession and in establishing and strengthening international collaborations. To share only a few examples:

Shane was a founding member of EAHIL! Shane had always continued to be active in EAHIL, and many of you will remember her fondly. It is due to Shane that we have stronger collaborative links with our sister association, AHILA.

Shane was founder and editor of what is now the very well-established Health Information and Libraries Journal.

Shane was a founder and director of Partnerships in Health Information, a charitable organisation with the aim of addressing information needs of the public and healthcare providers, especially in African countries.

So in this way we wish to formally acknowledge Shane’s incredible contribution to Health Librarianship.

This photo of Shane is quintessential. Shane who is 3rd from left, with international colleagues: Tzu-Heng Chiu, the President of the Taiwan Medical Library Association, Prof Maria Musoke, Past President of the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa, and Patti Biggs, Francis Crick Institute.

The Health Information and Libraries Journal recently published a series of articles about Shane’s career:

• Shaping a librarian; the impact of Shane Godbolt as manager, mentor and moreby Louise Jones
• African Hospital Libraries: How Shane Godbolt inspired and shaped a seedling by Claire Blacklock
• Shane Godbolt: the Charing Cross years (1970–1991) by Howard Hague

The Journal of EAHIL published an obituary by Suzanne Bakker.