Press contact: John Sayers, Public Affairs (202) 707-9216; Robin Hatziyannis, FLICC Publications and Education (202) 707-4800

June 23, 2008

FLICC Announces Awards For Federal Librarianship

The Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) 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.

FLICC will honor the award winners at the 25th Annual FLICC Forum on Federal Information Policies on Sept. 12 at the Library of Congress in Washington, where they will receive their awards from Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. The names of the winners will remain on permanent display in the FLICC offices at the Library of Congress.

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

2007 Federal Library/Information Center of the Year

Large Library/Information Center Category (with a staff of 11 or more federal and/or contract employees): The Combined Arms Research Library (CARL), U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., is recognized for its superior provision of a wide range of services to its 8,000 students, faculty, scholars, staff and the Army community at large. In 2007, the library system achieved its mission to promote the library as a network-centric learning and adaptive organization. CARL used creativity and innovation to reach its service goals with initiatives such as e-access to domestic and international audiences, promotion and marketing efforts, research and public services, space and technological upgrades, and professional development. Evidence of the CARL staff's energy, enthusiasm and success can be seen in a significant increase in customer satisfaction, evidenced by an 28 percent growth of database usage and a 76 percent increase in OPAC searches.

Small Library/Information Center Category (with a staff of 10 or fewer federal and/or contract employees): Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) Library, Landstuhl, Germany, is recognized for its unique world-class research facility, specializing in medical and dental medicine and serving numerous additional military medical facilities in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Serving approximately 3,000 medical professionals, the LRMC library embraced challenges in supporting the mission of the organization and embarked on a series of technology, training, outreach and service enhancement initiatives in 2007. In addition to its full-service library, the LRMC library created a worldwide reference program designed for patrons deployed in remote locations, a MedShare Intranet Web page, research online database classes, a term-paper assistance program, and an image-enhancing "Author Board," featuring publications by the center’s medical staff. Customer-satisfaction tools indicated that the library was effective, versatile and dedicated to the customer.

2007 Federal Librarian of the Year

Thomas F. Lahr, deputy associate biologist for information, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Reston, Va., is recognized for his expertise and experience that were instrumental in new program development, such as science.gov and in program modifications for USGS. Lahr also contributed insight and expertise to the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) and the Commerce, Energy, NASA, Defense Information (CENDI) Managers Group. As co-chair for the Science.gov Alliance, he saw to the expansion, funding and content for the Web site. During 2007, he collaborated with ICSTI to develop international science portals and create momentum for what is now known as WorldWideScience.org. At USGS, Lahr led the development of new ways to integrate and deliver information, and initiated and maintained USGS’s public and private partnerships with a wide variety of organizations. Along with his excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills, Lahr has demonstrated ability to manage the full lifecycle of information and build dynamic collections of information based on a deep understanding of clients’ information needs.

2007 Federal Library Technician of the Year

Jill Golden, federal library technician, Marshall Center Research Library, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, is recognized for her commitment to service in support of the Marshall Center Research Library. During 2007, Golden implemented numerous new services, demonstrated an exceptional commitment to service and applied innovative thinking, technical skills and knowledge of library resources for the benefit of a diverse user community. In addition to demonstrating her many library skills on the job, she proactively continued her education by taking classes and enrolling in a library-science degree program.

Information on the 2008 awards program will be available later this summer. For the latest information on the awards, interested parties may refer to the FLICC Web site, www.loc.gov/flicc/awards.html.

The Federal Library and Information Center Committee fosters excellence in federal library and information services through interagency cooperation, and provides guidance and direction for the Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK). Created in 1965 and headquartered at the Library of Congress, FLICC also makes recommendations on federal library and information policies, programs and procedures to federal agencies and to others concerned with libraries and information centers.

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PR 08-116
06/23/08
ISSN 0731-3527

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