Initiatives & Projects

faflrt logo

The Federal and Armed Forces Libraries Round Table (FAFLRT) is the primary voice for federal and armed forces libraries in the American Library Association (ALA) and has embarked upon a number of initiatives to assist federal libraries and educate ALA on the needs of federal libraries. These initiatives include:

FAFLRT Rising Stars Initiative

FAFLRT, Federal & Armed Forces Libraries Round Table, would like to recognize the activities and contributions of those new to federal or armed forces librarianship and government information management.  We are announcing a new program, Rising Stars, to highlight the achievements of those new to the profession.  A Rising Star will be profiled in each FAFLRT newsletter with their picture and an article detailing their relevant background and current accomplishments.

Rising Stars are those people who display a passion for the profession, both at work and via volunteer or association activities.  The basic guidelines are outlined below.  To nominate yourself or someone else please email Kim Lyall, FAFLRT Federal Director 09-11, at kim dot lyall at gmail dot com.  Please send me your basic information and a short blurb about your accomplishments, with links to any online work, articles, or videos.

We look forward to receiving your nominations and shining a spotlight on those new to the profession!  For more info on FAFLRT see: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/faflrt/index.cfm

Guidelines:

  • FAFLRT member in good standing
  • Work in a federal or armed forces library or government information management setting
  • New to the profession
  • Graduated from an MLS/MLIS program five years ago or less AND/OR
  • Been a professional librarian or information manager for five years or less

List of Rising Stars recipients.

Careers in Federal Librarianship

Started as a workshop, this initiative has grown into a series of national events designed to encourage and educate potential applicants on the benefits of Federal librarianship. Some library schools are bringing these events to their campuses. If you would like a Federal librarian liaison to work with your school or library, describe your needs and availability in our quick survey. Please also check out our collaboration site hosted on Google Groups.

San Jose State University was the first library school to hold a mini-Careers in Federal Libraries event in November 2008. See the article from Joyce Lee as a great recap of that content, " Do you want a Future with the Feds?" Florida State University followed with a mini-Careers in Federal Libraries event a week later. What a great program from Pamala Doffek (FSU, Goldstein Library) and Tyler Evans (Air University Fairchild Research Information Center, Chief Information Systems Branch). Thanks to Alma Quinn and Michelle Demeter for their efforts in creating a great program!

Conference Workshops

Each year, FAFLRT holds workshops at the ALA Annual Conference to educate and encourage Federal librarianship. A listing of previous workshops with links to the presentations is available online.

Membership Now Free for Students

In looking to the future of Federal librarianship, FAFLRT decided to change its dues structure to attract new librarians (free round table membership for students, for the first two years). In doing so, FAFLRT hopes to not only attract highly qualified librarians to bring fresh ideas and energy to the round table, but we hope that we can influence and mentor new librarians to pursue careers within the Federal sector.

National Federal Librarian-Library School Network

Are you a Federal librarian that would like to speak at a library school on Federal librarianship? Are you teaching a class at a library school? Are you associated with a library school that could use a federal librarian as a resource for classes and job fairs? Describe your needs and availability in our quick survey. Please also check out our collaboration site hosted on Google Groups.