Vol. 26, No. 1, Fall 2007

As I take over from Bobbie Carr asFAFLRT President for this next year, letme first thank the FAFLRT communityfor their support. The core groupof leaders assembled on the Board andCommittees continue to work wonders!All members should feel free to contactany of us with your suggestions, com-ments, and concerns. You will findeveryone listed on the back page of thisnewsletter as well as on the FAFLRT website. Feel free to post your thoughts tothe FAFLRT discussion list(http://www.ala.org/ala/faflrt/faflrtdiscussion/discussionlist.htm).

Did you realize the June 2007 ALAAnnual Conference in Washington, D.C.had record-breaking attendance? If youwere one of the few unable to attend theconference, see the FAFLRT web page(http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=faflrt) for the conference proceedingsand video archives.

I’ve been able to take some recent ac-tions and would like to share them withyou along with my goals for the next year

I met with ALAWashington Officestaff to help get me up to speed on myresponsibilities.

Based on information shared with me,the FAFLRT Round Table is one of thefew ALA organizations that do not chargefor preconference or post conferenceevents. I initiated discussion withFAFLRT board on raising funds based onthe following principles:

FAFLRT should continue to deliver themajority of our programming to FAFLRTmembers, ALA conference attendees, andfederal librarians free of charge.

Fees might be associated with pre-con-ference or post conference events as isusual practice in other ALA RoundTables.

No fees should be charged for eventsduring the official conference days unlessthere is an expense associated with theactivity. An example might be if there is atour of an off-site location and FAFLRThas to charter a bus to transport atten-dees. Fees might be charged only to coverthe amount of the transportation.

Corporate sponsorship will still besought for activities, events, andservices.

In all cases, fees for events will be votedon by the FAFLRT board before the activ-ities are placed on the conferenceprogram.

Greetings From the President:

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e 1 • F a l l 2 0 0 7

FEDERAL

LIBRARIANFederal andArmed Forces

Libraries Roundtable

Co-sponsoring of activities with otherALA organizations where a fee is chargedby any of the co-sponsors will be votedon by the FAFLRT board before the activ-ities are placed on the conference pro-gram.

Additional meetings are scheduledwith FLICC and the ALAWashingtonOffice staff for discussing action plans fora variety of situations in federal libraries.Stay tuned for more information!

I continue to explore how to expandcollaboration with other ALARoundtables.

Discussion continues on support forthe FLICC Federal Library FellowshipsRoberta Shaffer wants to initiate.

Based on input from the FAFLRT

From left to right; awards committee representative Shirley Loo and awardees AllisonSnell, Maria Pisa, and Alba Scott. (See article on page 8.)

continues on page 2

Rates for Advertising in the

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Federal Librarian newsletter, is thequarterly journal of the American LibraryAssociation’s Federal and Armed ForcesLibraries Round Table (FAFLRT). It presentsrecent developments and events of interestto the Federal and Armed Forces librarycommunity, including news and reports oninternational, federal, state, and local govern-ment issues. The Federal Librarian sub-scription base is approximately 600.

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PUBLICATION DEADLINES

ISSUE DEADLINE

Winter 2007 October 15, 2007

Spring 2008 February 15, 2008

MAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Send correspondence to:Jane Sessa, EditorFederal Librarian643 South 21stArlington,Virginia 22202202-482-1610Email: jsessa4@comcast.net

Send advertising copy to:Baldwin Graphics1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWMezzanine LevelWashington, DC 20004-1701202-347-0123Email: eric@baldwingraphics.com(Electronic copy or disc preferred)

FEDERAL

LIBRARIANFederal andArmed Forces

Libraries Roundtable

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e 2 • F a l l 2 0 0 7

CORRECTIONIssues for 2006/2007 should have been numberedVolume 25,Number 1, Fall 2006;Volume 25,Number2,Winter 2007;Volume 25,Number 3, Spring 2007; andVolume 25,Number 4, Summer 2007.

Greetings From the Presidentcontinued from page 1

Board, I will explore making the ALAMidwinter Board meeting available overthe internet.

I am already excited about the greatgroup of people we have on the FAFLRTBoard and Committees. And I’m on thelookout for FAFLRT members lookingto serve in some capacity. Your new ideasand energy are always welcome. And re-member it always looks good on your re-sume to note how you’re contributing tothe profession!

Janet Scheitel

FAFLRT Board at the 2007 ALASummer Conference in Washington, DC

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e 3 • F a l l 2 0 0 7

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mitment and knowledge in support ofthe mission of the Hurlburt Field Library.Known for her innovative programs,Honda implemented 120 events in fiscal2006 that reached more than 3,000 par-ticipants. She also coordinated the logis-tics for the library’s renovation and ledthe team responsible for relocating morethan 35,000 volumes. Honda’s high per-sonal standard of excellence for servicedelivery for the office reference collec-tions led to her success as a liaison to 75base offices and their related procure-ment processes.

Ms. Margaret Harrison, Director,Library Services, United States ArmyJohn F. Kennedy Special Warfare Centerand School, Ft. Bragg, NC was selected atCivilian of the Quarter, 1st Qtr 07 forthe Special Warfare Center and School.

Mrs. Eva Murphy, Reference Assistantand Interlibrary Loan Technician wasCivilian of the Year.

Ms. HollyMay Pickel, previouslyProgram and Acquisitions Librarian atMarine Corps Bases Japan, Butler LibrarySystem was selected as Library Director,Moody AFB, GA.

Ms. Rose Marie Krauss has been select-ed as Director of Libraries at MarineCorps Air Station Beaufort, SC andMarine Recruit Depot Parris Island, SC.Her previous positions were in New Yorkand South Carolina as a School LibraryMedia Specialist.

Ms. Grace Paul has been selected asDirector of Libraries for Marine CorpsBase Camp LeJeune, NC. Her previousposition was Reference Librarian atStanford University, CA.

Submitted by Cynthia Shipley

During its Annual Conference inDenver, the Special Libraries Association(SLA) honored a group of professionalswho work tirelessly to be sure that themen and women serving to protect theircountries in the Armed Forces have theinformation services and resources theyneed both abroad and at home. The 300-plus members of the SLA MilitaryLibrarians Division were awarded the2007 SLA Professional Award, which rec-ognizes a special event, major achieve-ment, or specific significant contributionto the field of librarianship or informa-tion science. This award was sponsoredby Springer.

Sharon Lenius, Information ResourceCenter, Army National Guard, Arlington,VA has been awarded the SLAAchievement Award.

The Armed Forces swept all four 2006Federal Librarianship Awards presentedby the Federal Library and InformationCenter Committee (FLICC) of theLibrary of Congress. The awards will bepresented to the recipients at a ceremonyat the Library of Congress on 12 October.

FROM THE LOC PRESSRELEASE:

2006 Federal Library/InformationCenter of the Year

Large Library/Information CenterCategory (with a staff of 11 or more fed-eral and/or contract employees): Camp S.D. Butler Library System, Marine CorpsCommunity Services, U.S. Marine Corps,Okinawa, Japan, is recognized for superi-or effort in enhancing the quality of lifefor more than 50,000 Americans sta-tioned in Okinawa and mainland Japan.In fiscal 2006, the library system support-ed 550,000 patron visits, increasing cus-tomer use by 14 percent and receiving acustomer satisfaction rating above 98percent. Evidence of the system’s energy,enthusiasm and success was shown instreamlined efforts in economical and ef-ficient acquisitions, cataloging and pro-cessing of materials, the ability to offernearly 500 individual programs for ser-vice members and their families, anddedication to maintaining eight libraries,three reading rooms and a technical ser-vices facility

Small Library/Information CenterCategory (with a staff of 10 or fewer fed-eral and/or contract employees): GeorgeC. Marshall European Center for SecurityStudies Library Garmisch-Partenkirchen,Germany, is recognized for effectiveness,versatility and dedication to the customer.The library embarked on a series of plan-ning, marketing, training, outreach andservice enhancement initiatives in 2006.By realigning duties, introducing efficien-cies and making judicious use of staff lan-guage skills, the library developed andachieved nearly 60 percent of a multiyearstrategic plan, expanded a multilingualWeb site, hosted 120 facility tours, andcompleted more than 50 briefings to dis-tinguished visitors from members of theGerman parliament and U.S. defenseleadership. The library also expanded andenhanced its collection, reference and cat-aloging functions at an exacting pace.This led to an increase in eBook collec-tions and database and online services,the creation of bibliographies on terror-ism and knowledge portals, and the devel-opment of a value-added online catalog.

2006 FEDERAL LIBRARIAN OFTHEYEAR

Carla Pomager, systems/acquisition li-brarian for the Army General LibraryProgram within Community Recreation,Family and Morale, Welfare andRecreation Command, U.S. Army,Alexandria, Va., will receive the award forher dedication and contributions to lead-ership of change in fiscal 2006. Her ac-complishments, knowledge of technologyand vision led to her creation of theGeneral Library Information System(GLIS), which provides information ser-vices to deployed soldiers as if they werevisiting their home base library. Pomagerled the effort to create the “My LibraryPage@” on the Army Knowledge OnlineWeb site, which has garnered nearly120,000 hits in just three months.

2006 FEDERAL LIBRARYTECHNICIAN OF THEYEAR

Sabrina D. Honda, library technician,Hurlburt Field Library, Hurlburt, Fla.,and Base Library, Little Rock Air ForceBase, will receive the award for her com-

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e 4 • F a l l 2 0 0 7

Fabulous Feds

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e 5 • F a l l 2 0 0 7

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e 6 • F a l l 2 0 0 7

The LubutoLibraryProjectThe Lubuto Library Project (LLP)— a

501(c)(3) non-profit based inWashington, DC — is participating in the2007 Combined Federal Campaign.Those who attended the annual SLA con-ference in Denver saw the broad outpour-ing of support that accompanied presen-tation of the Dow Jones Leadership Awardto Jane Kinney Meyers, founder and pres-ident of LLP. The Project brings speciallibrarianship to the fight against the indi-vidual, societal and global impact of theHIV/AIDS pandemic on a generation ofAfricans.

The Lubuto Project builds, stocks andtrains staff for first-class 5,000-volume li-braries providing literacy, education, safehavens and connection to society forAfrican street kids and other at-riskyoungsters otherwise denied such ser-vices. The Libraries’ collections, housed inlovely indigenous African design-inspired3-building complexes, are carefully andprofessionally selected and then organizedby students via US school-based aware-ness programs. The libraries are hostedand staffed by community-based Africanorganizations currently caring for the tar-get group, supported by training and spe-cially-developed systems provided by LLP.Initial efforts are focused on Zambia(where Lubuto’s regional office is a regis-tered NGO), with plans to expand intoother African countries in future years.More information is available on theProject’s website, www.Lubuto.org.

The Lubuto Project’s CFC number is12370.

Careers in Federal Libraries“Careers in Federal Libraries” was an

ALA preconference session presented at theLibrary of Congress by the Federal andArmed Forces Libraries Round Table. Theprogram was webcast, and the video fromthe session was posted on FLICC’s website.The majority of the session featured 11 fed-eral librarians providing an overview of thelibraries they work at, with a brief Q&A atthe end of each speech. Chris Zammarellioffers a blow by blow. To read more, go to:http://www.libraryola.com/2007/06/24/ala-2007-careers-in-federal-libraries-pt-2/

Panelists and Speakers at the Careers inFederal Libraries program during theALA Conference

Public Employees Roundtable(PER) ReportPublic Service Recognition Week

(PSRW), the annual celebration to honorfederal, state and local government em-ployees, was celebrated May 10-13 acrossthe nation with festivals, open houses andfundraising events for charities.

Since the Public Employees Roundtableis now part of the Council for Excellencein Government there was an even largerarray of events in Washington. TheWashington celebration commenced withthe annual GEICO Public AwardsCeremony that Fran Perros and JaneSessa attended at the National Archives.Another special event was the PSRWOpening Breakfast with Colonel CaseyWardynski (USA), the Project Directorand Originator of the Army’s hugely pop-ular computer game, America’s Army:Special Forces (Overmatch) and theVirtual Army experience as the keynotespeaker.

The event on the National Mall wasbigger than ever with more than a dozennew or expanded agen-cies participating this year and more than100 government agencies and privategroups exhibiting their programs and

services. Mascots from federal agencieswere present on the Mall, among themSmokey Bear, Woodsy Owl and Mr. Zip.One of the most talked about exhibit thisyear was a life-size replica of the JamesWebb Space Telescope which will launchinto outer space in 2013 to peer throughinterstellar dust and look back nearly 13billion years at the formation of the firststars and galaxies. The JWST will be thepremier observatory of the next decadewhich will examine every phase of cos-mic history from the first glows after theBig Bang to the formation and evolutionof galaxies, stars planets and our own so-lar system. Another spotlighted exhibitwas The Virtual Army Experience whichis part video game, part amusement parkride. It is a high tech, team-based experi-ence which immerses visitors in the oper-ational roles of soldiers in the U.S. Armyas they take part in a hands-on virtualmission. I personally came out of the ex-perience with a much better appreciationof the complexity and split-second deci-sion-making needed by today’s soldiers.

Fran PerrosFAFLRT Liaison to the Public EmployeesRoundtable

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F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e # • W i n t e r 2 0 0 5

Field educational experiences, balanc-ing theory with practice, fall into two cat-egories: internships and practica. Bothprovide numerous benefits: real experi-ence, real problems and challenges, realpeople, and a real sense of accomplish-ment. There is a certain measure of am-biguity regarding the similarities and dif-ferences between these two terms. Fromone professional librarian’s perspective,an internship is availablceive pay for thisactivity, is required to work 120 hours ata particular site, and is expected to workin a manner that reflects the normalwork that a library professional would bedoing in a full-time library job. Thework assigned is developed collaborative-ly between the student and the supervisorand is subject to approval from the stu-dent’s advisor. Three hours of graduatecredit are awarded for a practicum; noneare awarded for an internship.

For a library science student, the possi-bility of entering into a field educationalexperience may have some appeal andshould be given consideration as theyplan their coursework for the degree.Internships/practica opens a window topeek inside of possibilities not previouslyconsidered, or a reaffirmation of the typeof work the student is interested in oncethe MLS is completed.

I still encounter students who lack crit-ical information of how they can becomea participant in a field experience whichcould lead to exploring opportunitiesthat may not fall within the realm of tra-ditional librarianship, for example, start-ing a business as an information profes-sional. Recently, I had a leading profes-sional tell me, “who needs a practicumwith everyone working?”Whether work-ing or not, the student may not yet have aclear idea of what they would like to doas they are finishing their MLS degree.

But how does one find out what isneeded to participate in this unique expe-rience? The library schools themselveswould be the best source of informationfor librarians who are interested in beingmentors and students who desire to gainvaluable experience. For example, theCatholic University of America (hereafter,CUA) offers a 120 hour practicum pro-gram. The Library School has a

Practicum Coordinator, plus a list of par-ticipating institutions. The student who isinterested is asked to gain approval fromhis/her advisor first; then, contact theperson responsible for the mentoring, ei-ther by e-mail or phone call. When Imentor, I ask the student to come out fora preliminary interview to see how faralong they are in their library scienceprogram; to set up some ground rules,discuss a mutually agreed upon scheduleof instruction; and to make sure they arestill committed to participate in this ex-change.

As a mentor, it is my obligation to es-tablish learning goals with clear expecta-tions of what I am hoping the intern willbe able to complete while they are undermy supervision. I have also built in timefor special projects that may come up af-ter I have already set the schedule—flexi-bility on both the mentor’s and the stu-dent’s part is essential in this regard.Students are expected to show up ontime and carry themselves in a profes-sional manner—as they are representingthe library school and CUA in this partic-ular setting. They also have the responsi-bility of keeping a journal of what theylearned each day, obstacles they’ve en-countered, or other matters of interest.My mentoring duties include not onlysupervising the workload of my student,but in the end, providing the CUA libraryprogram with an evaluation which deter-mines whether they will receive a passingor failing grade.

Another component of this process isthe visit by the Program Coordinator tothe site where the student is working. It isthe student’s and mentor’s opportunity todiscuss with the Coordinator any issues,problems, resolutions etc. that may haveoccurred during the course of thepracticum. It also ensures that theprocess is going well for both mentor andstudent. The Program Coordinator alsobenefits from this visitation, according toBev Lammay, Program Coordinator atCUA, from visiting so many differentsites:

“Is the validation that our academiccurriculum is preparing our students forthe work situations that they will en-counter? The other benefit is to find out

what some of the future issues are in avariety of information settings and howour curriculum adjusts to incorporatethis ‘cutting edge’ application of our is-sues. Digital resources, social network-ing, and Web 2.0 used for staff develop-ment and other applications are the mostrecent ones that our students have foundin their work. The unofficial reason isthat I absolutely LOVE visiting studentsand libraries and meeting the most won-derful professional colleagues.”

Librarians who are interested in be-coming mentors should likewise contactthe field educator, the practicum coordi-nator, or the Dean to inform them thatthey are willing to be recruited to sharetheir expertise and knowledge. As it wasexplained to me by the ProgramCoordinator at CUA, not every librarythat has applied will be accepted by theinstitution in question for this program.

“There are several things that move asite from a questionable category to alisting. Having a CUA alum that is will-ing to serve as a site supervisor and hasbeen in a professional role at that site formore than three years is a huge plus. Wealso look for credible sites whose li-braries have collection strengths estab-lished, have longevity of operation, andhave a fairly robust professional staff.Special libraries sometimes can offerchallenges in determining whether stu-dents will have adequate supervisionand/or mentorship, and many times wehave simply ‘taken the plunge’ and hopedto find out that indeed this site is a goodexperience for an upcoming profession-al.”

If the school doesn’t offer a practicumor internship, there are several courses ofaction to consider. Seek ways to get a dis-cussion started among fellow students,teachers, and professionals in the field.Other librarians who have mentored maybe interested in coming to speak to thestudent body on what their experienceshave been and to provide some ways foryou to get started towards a stable pro-gram.

The benefits of such a process for thestudent lie certainly in gaining practicalexperience, networking opportunities

The Joy of Mentoring in Federal Libraries

continues on page 11

Thanks

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e # • W i n t e r 2 0 0 5

The Jo y o fMento ringcontinued from page 10

and perhaps, gaining a clearer picture oftoday’s working librarian. The hosting li-brary and the mentor in turn obtain afresh perspective on the subjects beingtaught and discussed to keep the profes-sion moving forward. In addition, thehosting library gains greater visibility andprominence. There is also an occasion toexamine those principles and methods ofthe profession—are they still valid andvaluable, or, do they need to be re-exam-ined in the light of new information?Personally, I have benefited in ways I can-not even begin to count—it is one of thebest ways to give back to the profession—mentoring.

Sherry E. F. Kish, STB, MSLSTechnical Services LibrarianPentagon LibraryWashington, DC

Thanks to our Sponso rs atthe ALAAnnual

Conference in Washingtonin June:

LexisNexis

Library Associates

ProQuest

SirsiDynex

F e d e r a l L i b r a r i a n • P a g e 8 • F a l l 2 0 0 7

The historic Army and Navy Club inWashington D.C. provided the venue forthis year’s FAFLRT Awards program cele-brating all current and budding Federallibrarians.

ALA CICELY PHIPPENMARKSSCHOLARSHIP

FAFLRT was privileged to be sponsor-ing and presenting for the very first timethe new American Library Associationscholarship named in honor of CicelyPhippen Marks.

The Cicely Phippen Marks scholarshiphelps support the education of a studentenrolled in an ALA-accredited master’sdegree program in library and informa-tion studies that has an interest in work-ing in a federal library. Named in honorof the late Cicely Phippen Marks, federallibrarian, the scholarship is supported bya generous donation from her husband.The annual award of $1,500 is sponsoredand administered by FAFLRT. The lateMs. Marks was a 24-year member of ALAwho was active in both FAFLRT and theAssociation for Library Collections andTechnical Services (ALCTS). She spentmuch of her career working in federal li-braries. After graduating from theUniversity of Maryland’s Graduate Schoolof Library Science in 1970, she spent 15years with the U.S. VeteransAdministration Central Office LibraryDivision. She then worked at theAmerican Overseas Book Company until2000, moving on to the Customs andBorder Protection Library, under contractwith PTFS, Inc., until her retirement in2004.

Allison Snell, a Library andInformation Science graduate student atLouisiana State University was an-nounced as the first recipient of thescholarship. Joining in the scholarshippresentation was the family of Ms.Marks: husband Charles L. Garris; chil-dren Cindy and David Marks; and hersisters, Dr. Susan Buxbaum; Ms. RobertaCollier; and Ms. Barbara Cutler. In amoving tribute to his wife, Mr. Garris al-so presented Allison with a copy of

Remembering Cicely: Recollections andObservations of the Past Twenty Yearswhich he wrote. Allison expects to gradu-ate in December 2007. She currentlyserves as the President of the GraduateLibrary and Information Science StudentAssociation at LSU. She also holds aBachelor of Science degree in psychologyfromWestern Oregon University whereshe was the recipient of an impressiveseven scholarships and awards. Allison isactive professionally as a student memberof the American Library Association, theSpecial Libraries Association and theAmerican Society for InformationScience and Technology where she servesan editorial assistant for the Journal ofthe American Society for InformationScience and Technology (JASIST). Aspart of her responsibilities she acts as amediator between the Editor-in-Chief,authors, referees, and publisher of theJournal, processes manuscripts, runsjournal statistics, processes copyrighttransfer agreements and attends theASIST annual conference and editorialboard meeting. At an LSUWritersForum held this year, Allison presentedinformation about the peer review andpublishing process of JASIST. Most re-cently she has served as Student Liaison& Program Coordinator for the ALA“Careers in Federal Libraries ProgramCommittee” held at the Library ofCongress. Working with FAFLRT andLSU faculty and students she helped de-velop a panel at the 2007 ALA AnnualConference about careers in federal li-brarianship. She created program adver-tisements, designed an interest survey,speaker invitations, and coordinatedOnline Programming for All Libraries(OPAL) web cast training sessions withother library schools. In the words ofone of the individuals who provided areference, “It’s amazing to watch the en-ergy and enthusiasm she’s been able togenerate in the students.” Allison will beremaining in Washington D.C. for severalweeks following the Conference to partic-ipate in a field experience at the ExecutiveOffice of the President Library.

ADELAIDE DEL FRATECONFERENCE SPONSORSHIPAWARD

Alba Scott, a Library and InformationScience graduate student at San Jose StateUniversity is this year’s recipient of theAdelaide del Frate ConferenceSponsorship Award. This award supportsthe attendance at an ALA annual meetingof a library school student with demon-strated interest in Federal librarianship.The award was established in 1996 inmemory of Adelaide del Frate, distin-guished federal librarian and active mem-ber of our Roundtable. For a secondyear, ProQuest sponsored and presentedthe $1,000 conference sponsorship award.Alba expects to complete her studies thisfall. She also holds a bachelor’s degree inlibrary science. Alba is actually the sec-ond student from San Jose State to beawarded the conference sponsorshipaward. Jennifer Peterson received it in2001 and attended this year’s reception,joining Alba at the podium as she re-ceived her award. Since January 2007,Alba has been working as a technical in-formation specialist at the Bureau ofReclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, inSacramento. In this position she is re-sponsible for the regional technical li-brary. Her duties include cataloging li-brary materials; using the OCLCConnexion interface for both originaland copy cataloging; process interlibraryloans; providing reference and researchmaterials; overseeing the work of a li-brary technician; and maintaining li-brary’s website. Her prior work experi-ence includes 6 years as library director atthe Western Career College, also inSacramento, where she was responsiblefor running a small library in a vocationschool. There she ordered and processednew books and serials; cataloged newmaterials; performed reference and circu-lation tasks; and developed and imple-mented instruction on database searchand retrieval. Alba has been fascinated byher first foray into federal libraries, andin particular by the number of librariesproviding information in different

2007 FAFLRT Awards Recipients Recognizedat ALA Annual Conference

continues on page 9

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branches of the Federal government,their unique missions, and their diversity.She finds her work at the Bureau ofReclamation interesting and challengingand requiring knowledge of the agencyand other related agency libraries. In herwords, “the opportunities to network areendless.” Alba acknowledges that she hasmuch to learn about Federal libraries buthas discovered in a short period of timethat Federal libraries are important infor-mation assets not only for those in theagencies they serve, but also for the pub-lic in general.

FAFLRT DISTINGUISHEDSERVICE AWARD

Maria Pisa of the National AgriculturalLibrary (NAL) is the recipient of the 2007FAFLRT Distinguished Service Award.The award recognizes outstanding andsustained contributions by a FAFLRTmember. Maria has served as VicePresident/President-elect (1995-1996),President (1996-1997), Immediate PastPresident (1997-1998), Director (1999-2001) of the Federal Librarians RoundTable (FLRT) and Secretary (2001-2002)of the Federal and Armed ForcesLibraries Round Table (FAFLRT). In ad-dition to her elected Board service, Mariahas reliably and consistently supportedFLRT, FAFLRT, and ALA activities in oth-er ways. She served as chair of the nomi-nating Committee (1997-1999) for FLRT.She is serving as co-chair of the AwardsCommittee for FAFLRT, a position shehas held for many years. She plannedtwo annual conference programs:“American’s Federal Libraries: Value toShare” (1995); and “What In,What’sSpin: Winning Strategies for MarketingYour Library” (2004). She has con-tributed to other programs, includingcontributing to and assisting the editor ofthe Federal Librarian newsletter. She hasbeen responsible for the design and edit-ing of the FLRT and current FAFLRTmembership brochures since 1998 andshe is presently updating it to includeFAFLRT’s expanded awards program.From 2001-2004, she served on andchaired (2004) the ALA H.W.WilsonLibrary Staff Development Grant AwardJury. At NAL, she is the AssociateDirector for Public Services. In this ca-

pacity she is responsible for the adminis-tration and management of NAL’s publicservice programs including oversight oftwo branches: Information ResearchServices; and Collection Services.Services provided by the Division in-clude: in-depth technical information re-search; general reference services; infor-mation product development; and docu-ment delivery and interlibrary loan.Maria also has oversight for the Library’srare and special collections program in-cluding preservation and conservation ofNAL’s collection of historically signifi-cant, rare and special materials as well aseight subject-specific InformationCenters. Prior to assuming her presentposition, Ms. Pisa was Assistant Directorfor Policy and Planning at NAL. In thisposition her responsibilities included co-ordination of legislative matters, grantprograms and international programplanning. Maria holds an M.S. in LibraryScience from Catholic University, and aB.S. degree from Boston University. Shehas published numerous articles andbibliographies, is active in several profes-sional organizations including the UnitedStates Agricultural Information Networkwhere she is serving on the 2008Conference program committee. In ad-dition, she is a current member of theFederal Library and Information CenterCommittee (FLICC) Executive Board andalso served from 1992-1994. She has beena member of and/or chaired the FLICCNominating committee for many years.Ms. Pisa is the recipient of numerousperformance awards. On accepting theaward, Maria noted that she “has been amember of ALA for over 20 years and ofour Round Table for more than 10. Inthat time I have seen and continue to seemany changes in the profession as we allhave. Being part of a supportive and dy-namic network of professionals such asFAFLRT has allowed me to grow profes-sionally and welcome with confidence allthe challenges and the opportunitiesthese changes represent. I count mymembership in FAFLRT as among themost valuable and satisfying relationshipsof my professional career. “

Maria Pisa and Shirley Loo,Co-chairs,FAFLRT Awards Committee

20 0 7 FAFLRT Awards continued from page 8 MyConferenceExperienceBy Alba Scott, 2007 Adelaide del Frate

Conference Sponsorship Award Recipient

I have always wanted to attend an ALAAnnual Conference and this year felt likethe perfect year to attend. In January Istarted my first federal job in a federal li-brary and in December I will be finishingmy MLIS degree at San Jose State. WhenI heard about the FAFLRT award to at-tend the annual conference, I saw a greatopportunity to meet others involved infederal librarianship during the annualconference.

Flying from California to D.C. andtaking the bus and Metro to the Army-Navy Club was just the first of many ex-citing days in DC. I was honored to bepresented the conference sponsorshipaward during the awards reception. Atthe Conference, I attended many interest-ing sessions, including a panel about freeaccess to government funded research, atopic that interests me. The sessionprompted me to write a paper for mysummer government information class.At the exhibition halls, I interacted withother librarians from different parts ofthe country with different backgrounds. Ivisited with vendors, browsed books, andeven got a couple of books signed bytheir authors.

At the FAFLRT membership meeting Ilearned more about different types offederal libraries and the opportunitiesavailable within the federal library sys-tem. This information was particularlyuseful as I prepare to create a career pathfor myself.

I left Washington D.C. with a sense ofaccomplishment, a better idea of the pro-fession, and, above all, excited about thechoice I made to seek library science as acareer. I want to thank Ms. Shirley Loo,the awards chair, and all others involvedin FAFLRT for their dedication in pro-moting federal librarianship. I hopemany more library students can benefitfrom the award in the future.

PRESIDENT (2007-2008)Janet M. ScheitlePlanning & Development/Library ServicesU. S. Government Printing Office732 N. Capitol St. NWWashington DC 20401Phone: (202) 512-0140E-mail: jscheitle@gpo.gov

FEDERAL DIRECTOR (THRU 6/2008)Linda M. Resler, ManagerU.S. Government Printing OfficeLibrary Technical Services (SuDoc)732 North Capitol Street NWWashington, D.C. 20401Phone: (202) 512-2010 x33229Fax: (202) 512-1432E-mail: lresler@gpo.gov

PAST PRESIDENTBobbie CarrElectronic Services LibrarianDefense Language Institute,Aiso Library543 Lawton Rd., Ste.617aMonterey, CA. 93944Phone: (831) 242-4230Fax: (831) 242-5816E-mail: Bobbie.Carr1@us.army.mil

FEDERAL DIRECTOR (THRU 6/2009)Doria GrimesChief, Contract Operations BranchNOAA Central Library1315 East-West Highway, #2805Silver Spring MD 20910Phone: 301-713-2607 x142Fax: 301-713-4599E-mail: Doria.Grimes@noaa.gov

VICE-PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT(2007-08)

Nancy G. FagetU.S. Government Printing OfficeLibrary Services & Content MgmtMailstop: IDLP732 N. Capitol St., NWWashington, D.C. 20401Phone: (202) 512-2290Fax: (202) 512-2300E-mail: nfaget@gpo.gov

ARMED FORCES DIRECTOR (THRU 6/2008)Lucille M. RosaHead,Tech ServicesEccles LibraryNaval War College686 Cushing RoadNewport, RI 02841-1207Phone: (401) 841-6492DSN: 948-6492E-mail: rosal@nwc.navy.mil

SECRETARY (2006-2008)Belinda PughLibrarianMCAS/Iwakuni,JapanPSC 561 Box 1558FPO AP 96310Phone: 011-81-827-795156Fax: 011-81-827-796257E-mail: PUGHBJ@usmc-mccs.org

ARMED FORCES DIRECTOR (THRU 6/2009)Jannie DavisU.S.Army Installation Management

CommandNortheast Region MWR Division5-B Northgate Road, Room 111Fort Monroe,VA 23651-1038Phone: 757-788-5264Fax: 757-788-2750E-mail: jannie.davis@us.army.mil

TREASURER (2007-2009)Marie L. NelsonChief,AFFTC Technical Research Library812 TSS/ENTL, Bldg 1400, Room 106307 E. Popson Ave.Edwards Air Force Base, CA 93524-

6630Phone: 661-277-3606

(DSN 527-3606)Fax: 661-277-6451E-mail: marie.nelson@edwards.af.mil

FAFLRT Committee Chairs andLiaisons

ALA ANNUAL PROGRAMNancy G. FagetU.S. Government Printing OfficeLibrary Services & Content MgmtMailstop: IDLP732 N. Capitol St., NWWashington, D.C. 20401Phone: (202) 512-2290Fax: (202) 512-2300E-mail: nfaget@gpo.gov

AWARDS COMMITTEEShirley Loo, ChairLibrary of Congress, CRS625 A Street, S.E.Washington, D.C. 20003-1225Phone: (202) 707-6785Fax: (202) 707-7021E-mail: sloo@crs.loc.gov

Maria G. Pisa, Co-ChairAssociate Director for Public ServicesNational Agricultural Library6 Room 20310301 Baltimore Avenue, Rm. 203Beltsville, Maryland 20752Phone: (301) 504-5834Fax: (301) 504-6951E-mail: mpisa@nal.usda.gov

ALA COUNCILOR (THROUGH 6/2009)Mary McInroyUniversity of IowaUniversity LibrariesWashington & Madison StreetsIowa City, IA 52242-1420Phone: (319)335-6247Email: Mary-McInroy@uiowa.edu

ALA LEGISLATION ASSEMBLYGeorgette HarrisFLICC/FEDLINKLibrary of Congress101 Independence Ave SEAdams Building, Room 217Washington, DC 20540Phone: (202) 707-4850E-mail: gharris@loc.gov

ARCHIVISTLucille M. Rosa

ALA LIAISONReginald ScottAmerican Library Association1615 New Hampshire Ave NWFirst FloorWashington DC 20009-2520Phone: (202) 628-8410Fax: (202) 628-8419E-mail: rscott@alawash.org

ALA EDUCATION ASSEMBLYHelen Q. ShermanTeam Leader, Reference and RetrievalDefense Technical Information CenterDTIC-BR8725 John J. Kingman RoadSuite 0944Ft. Belvoir,VA. 22060-6218Phone: (703) 767-8274, x9053Fax: (703) 767-8228E-mail: hsherman@dtic.mil

ALA PLANNING & BUDGET ASSEMBLYMarie L. Nelson

FAFLRT Committee Chairs andLiaisons

ALA ROUNDTABLE COORDINATING COMMITTEEJanet M. Scheitle

EDITOR, FEDERAL LIBRARIANJaneT. SessaDept. of Commerce Law LibraryRm. 189414th & Constitution Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20230Phone: (202) 482-1610 (w)Fax: (202) 482-0221E-mail: jsessa@doc.gov

BOOTH COORDINATOREileenWelchUSDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection4700 River Road, Unit 6Riverdale, MD 20737Phone: (301) 734-5240Fax: (301) 734-8391E-mail: Eileen.L.Welch@usda.gov

FEDERAL PERSONNELLinda M. Resler

BYLAWS AND CONSTITUTIONFran PerrosRalph J Bunche LibraryU.S. Dept of StateRoom 3239Washington, D.C. 20520Phone: (202) 647-2196Fax: (202) 647-0203E-mail: perrosfe@state.gov

FLICC LIAISONHelen Q. Sherman

COALITION FOR EFFECTIVE CHANGEJaneT. Sessa

INTERNET /WEB ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEEJames KingNaval Research Laboratory Library4555 Overlook Ave, Code 5596Washington, DC 20375-5334Phone: (202) 767-2357Fax: (202) 767-3352E-mail: jamesk@library.nrl.navy.mil

FAFLRT Committee Chairs andLiaisons

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEEDonna Ramsey, ChairU.S.Army Van Noy Library5966 12th St., Bldg. 1024Fort Belvoir,VA 22060Phone: (703) 806-0096Fax: (703) 806-0091E-mail:Donna.ramsey@us.army.mil

NOMINATING COMMITTEEFran Perros

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ROUNDTABLE LIAISONFran Perros

Federal and Armed Forces Libraries RoundTable Board: 2007-2008

FEDERAL

LIBRARIANFederal andArmed Forces

Libraries Roundtable