James Bennett Childs Award
LexisNexis/GODORT/ALA "Documents to the People" Award
NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/ALA Catharine J. Reynolds Research Grant Award
Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award
W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship
Recipient: Larry Romans
Mr. Larry Romans, Head of Government Information Services at Vanderbilt University, is the 2008 recipient of the James Bennett Childs Award. This award is a tribute to an individual who has made a lifetime and significant contribution to the field of government documents librarianship.
Larry Romans's contributions to the Government Documents Roundtable have been longstanding and exemplary, serving as GODORT Chair, Program Committee Chair, GITCO Chair, Education Committee Chair, and Federal Documents Task Force Coordinator, as well serving on the Budget, Legislation, Nominating, and Publications Committees. In each of these positions Mr. Romans has not only defended the public's right to government information, he has done so in a manner that has inspired countless others by his warmth, inclusiveness, dedication, and courage.
Perhaps no member of GODORT has brought government information to the forefront of ALA like Mr. Romans. For years, a concern of the GODORT membership was lack of representation on ALA Council. As a result of Larry’s efforts, GODORT and other round tables have their own councilors. His service on Council is especially notable for his work in political advocacy. As chair of ALA’s Committee on Legislation, Larry placed emphasis on grassroots initiatives, working within ALA and state associations on joint efforts. His election to the ALA Executive Board attests to his stature as a national leader and will serve as a platform from which he will ensure government information issues are addressed.
Two of Larry’s notable achievements are the GODORT Handout Exchange and the Frequently Used Sites Related to U.S. Federal Government Information. The Handout Exchange, a collection of documents guides from across the country, has been a godsend to librarians seeking information on government-related subjects. As one librarian writes, “the handout exchange was a brilliant idea that not only encouraged librarians to share information but developed a strong community spirit within GODORT.” The Frequently Used Sites Related to U.S. Federal Government Information is one of the best and most comprehensive government information sites on the Internet, helping librarians identify key government resources. These two projects embody Larry’s spirit of cooperation and desire to assist librarians with their everyday work.
If there is one quality that exemplifies Mr. Roman’s leadership, it is his mentoring and support of other librarians. Larry’s award nomination was filled with moving personal testimonies from colleagues whom Larry has helped, guided, supported and encouraged over the years, many of whom have gone on to positions of national leadership due to his efforts. To quote one member “I first encountered Larry, when he was Education Committee chair, and I was no one. He asked me a few questions, like my name and where I worked. That was it; after that he treated me like he had known me forever.” Another librarian writes “I have found Larry to be one of the most courageous librarians I have ever known, standing firm for his convictions, often in the face of strong opposition.” Characteristics such as these: courage, integrity, inclusiveness, and dedication to the profession make Mr. Romans an example to us all and a truly deserving recipient of GODORT’s highest award.
Recipient: Mary Webb Prophet
Her colleagues in the library and on the faculty at Denison, in GODORT of Ohio, and nationally know Mary Prophet as a careful researcher and bibliographer, and a sensitive teacher and reference librarian. She has promoted, in her unfailingly patient and practical way, the use and understanding of government information to students, faculty, and fellow librarians. Her work has never been confined to her own library. Her role as a leader of the Government Documents Round Table of Ohio, in the Five Colleges consortium, and as member and secretary of the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer, as well as her many research interests all reflect a view of government documents librarianship that its broad and inclusive. That view has been communicated to the users Mary has served throughout her career.
Mary's unshakeable belief in the power and reach of government docments, and her tireless work in as educator, mentor, scholar, and advocate are the embodiment of the best spirit of Documents Librarianship, of the power of getting documents and people together, which this award celebrates. Some years ago, Mary encountered a South African student in the stacks at Denison, in tears as he read Congressional hearings on South Africa and apartheid. This student was amazed to be told by Mary that he could not only read the documents he reverently held in the library, but could check them out. So much information from the Government, freely available to anyone who wished to use it, was nearly beyond his comprehension. Mary's work, writing, and advocacy for the Depository Library Program help to ensure that such moments continue to inspire and motivate us to bring documents and people together.
Recipient: Judith Downie
The 2008 recipient of the Catherine J. Reynolds Research Grant is Judith Downie, Humanities and Government Information Librarian at California State University-San Marcos. Judith’s research interests include the use of government documents in instruction by information literacy librarians and faculty, professional education and competencies in government documents librarianship, and the use of technologies in instruction.
The Reynolds Award will provide the funds to hire an adjunct instructor to assist Judith with some of her teaching responsibilities, which will allow her to devote more time to her research on librarians’ use or avoidance of government information. Judith is currently surveying non-documents specialists on their education and experience with documents and their reasons for not using them. So far, she has collected data through an online survey of California instruction librarians and their awareness and use of government documents. She plans to expand this survey to the national level.
Judith hopes the findings from her state and national surveys will help strengthen collaborations among librarians, their peers, and their patrons. She believes these collaborations, especially those involving documents specialists, will help improve the overall use of government documents.
Judith plans to report her research in various publications that address different librarian interests, as well as through local and national presentations. She hopes her research will bolster outreach efforts among both government documents specialists and non-specialists, and also encourage library school administrators to offer more documents-focused courses.
Recipient: Lily Wai
The recipient of the 2008 Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Award is Lily Wai, Professor Emeritus and former Head of the Government Document Department at the University of Idaho Library. This award recognizes Lily’s significant contributions to the field of state, local and federal documents.
For more than 20 years Lily has served the citizens of Idaho and has provided leadership to the documents community in the Pacific Northwest as Head of the Regional Depository Library for the state of Idaho. Lily’s major contribution was the development of INSIDE Idaho; a digital geospatial and statistical data clearinghouse which was initially developed with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (1999-2001) and several USGS CAP grants. The increasing demands for Idaho’s geospatial information by educational institutions, government and business professionals, as well as Idaho citizens will be served in future generations through her visionary efforts.
Lily has been a long time advocate of citizen’s rights to effect change and participate in the political process. One notable and innovative example occurred during the 2000 Census redistricting efforts in Idaho. Lily worked with the Idaho Redistricting Commission and libraries throughout the state to offer citizens opportunities to use GIS software to draw and submit suggestions for legislative and congressional district boundaries. Although Lily has retired from the library, she has continued to live out this conviction as an advocate by raising awareness for cancer research. The photo that has been included with this accolade typifies our friend and colleague and deserves some explanation. It was taken in Washington D.C. at the LiveStrong Day on May 16, 2007 where she participated as a representative from the state of Idaho lobbying for cancer research funding for NIH and NCI.
In recognition of her contributions to state and local documents librarianship and to the community of documents librarians in the Pacific Northwest, GODORT is proud to present this award to Lily Wai.
Recipient: Ray Walling
Ray Walling, a student at the University of Michigan School of Information, is the 2008 recipient of the W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship. He also works in the Government Documents Center at the University of Michigan. His interest in political science and public policy led him to a summer internship with the Government Documents Center and Numeric and Spatial Data Services, and the rest is history. As a result of his experiences in the School of Information and specifically with government information, he has changed his career goal of an advanced degree in history or classics to focus on a future in academic libraries. As well as his interest in teaching about government information, he has already started on his research agenda, and values the professional development opportunities that come with involvement in professional organizations.
During his time at the Government Documents Center, Ray developed an index of cities and their coverage in Census Bureau block statistics over the years: a unique guide to accessing statistics for the smallest geographic areas. He also created the Decennial Census Question Database, which searches questions by decade or by subject tag. These pages are linked from the Documents Center website. Ray has also done an offline inventory of all Decennial Census materials held in the University of Michigan Library in all formats, including preservation and purchasing recommendations, and has taught School of Information students and reference librarians about four online Census resources.
Rays’ colleagues also emphasize his enthusiasm about government information, the quality of his academic work, the quality of his answers to difficult reference questions, and his skill in training non-specialists to use government information. He has obviously been a valued asset at the Government Information Center and will be an important addition to the community of government information specialists.
