May 11, 2012 FEDLINK Announces 13th Annual Awards for Federal Librarianship

Press Contact: John Sayers, Office of Communications (202) 707-9216
Public Contact: Robin Harvey, FEDLINK Publications and Education (202) 707-4820

The Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) has announced the winners of its national awards for federal librarianship, which recognize the many innovative ways that federal libraries, librarians and library technicians fulfill the information demands of government, business and scholarly communities and the American public.

FEDLINK will honor the award winners at the 2012 FEDLINK Spring Exposition on May 14, 2012, at the Library of Congress in Washington, where the winners will receive their awards from Associate Librarian of Congress for Library Services Roberta I. Shaffer. The names of the winners will remain on permanent display in the FEDLINK offices at the Library of Congress.

Federal libraries and staff throughout the United States and abroad competed in three award categories. The winners are listed below.

2011 Federal Library/Information Center of the Year

Large Library/Information Center (with a staff of 11 or more federal and/or contract employees): Woodworth Consolidated Library, DFMWR, Recreation Division and TRADOC, Fort Gordon, Ga., is recognized for motivating and inspiring its patrons by delivering real-world information services and meeting the educational and training needs of soldiers and their families. In fiscal year 2011, Woodworth Consolidated Library increased overall program participation by more than 18 percent and offered more than 150 unique and inspiring programs for 12,000 children and families. Through community partnerships with local community service organizations, the library created and hosted special programs supporting deployed families, youth work-study and literacy. The library also fostered proficiency with both e-ink and tablet technology, making more than 12,000 titles available and expanding use of e-resources by 40 percent. Library staff tripled use of materials and technology resources by regaining more than 2,000 feet of usable space through repurposing library furnishings, re-working traffic flows and completing five renovation projects.

Small Library/Information Center (with a staff of 10 or fewer federal and/or contract employees): Eglin Air Force Base Library, Fla., is recognized for its resilience and focus on the needs of its individual users and patrons. Dedicated to maintaining and improving the overall education and quality of life of the military families it serves, the library collaborated with other military libraries and local organizations to build stronger programs, increase visibility, and deliver its programming beyond the physical library. Through a redesign of its web portal, the library made online learning, databases and e-books convenient resources for all users. Its close partnership with the base education office assured seamless communication with local schools and direct marketing of educational resources to adult learners. For families, the library held a record-breaking summer reading program, with a 32 percent increase in participation compared with the previous year, and developed an initiative featuring new collections and outreach programming to new base arrivals and deployed families.

2011 Federal Librarian of the Year

MaryLynn Francisco, acting director for the GEOINT Research Center, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Va., is recognized for her stewardship and visionary leadership of the research center. Through thorough planning and skillful execution, Francisco directed the scanning and posting of more than one million maps and charts online at a savings of nearly $10 million. She also consolidated three separate physical collections and locations into one 32,400 square-foot collaborative workspace. Her supervision of metadata standardization resulted in the center’s records being integrated into a larger project and the completion of a data-integrity project, resulting in more than 5,000 records being suppressed or purged from the center’s Integrated Library System to ensure accurate discovery and results.

2011 Federal Library Technician of the Year

Leanna Bush, library technician, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is recognized for her outstanding customer service, in-depth knowledge of collections and understanding of researcher needs. Her outstanding work in the preparation and administration of the library budget, copy cataloging, collection development, interlibrary loan, library-use metrics and administration all underscore her dedication to the agency and library missions. Her vision and follow-through efforts were instrumental in the development of additional knowledge management initiatives for the institute. She also created a comprehensive and interactive bibliography of more than 3,700 institute-authored publications, including articles, technical reports, proceedings, papers, abstracts and posters.

For the latest information on the awards, please see the FEDLINK website, www.loc.gov/flicc/.

The Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) is an organization of federal agencies working together to achieve optimum use of the resources and facilities of federal libraries and information centers by promoting common services, coordinating and sharing available resources, and providing continuing professional education for federal library and information staff. FEDLINK serves as a forum for discussion of the policies, programs, procedures and technologies that affect federal libraries and the information services they provide to their agencies, to the Congress, to the federal courts and to the American people.

###

PR 12-096
2012-05-11
ISSN 0731-3527