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

---

James Bennett Childs Award

Recipient: August A. Imholtz, Jr.

August A. Imholtz, Jr., Vice President for Government Documents, Readex (a division of NewsBank, inc), is the 2007 recipient of the James Bennett Childs Award.

It is with extreme pleasure that GODORT presents this award to August Imholtz in recognition of his distinguished and sustained contributions to documents librarianship as evidenced by his scholarship and research of United States government publications and by his enthusiasm, knowledge, and scholar’s detail applied to the field of documents research.

As his nomination letter states, “For more than 30 years, August’s contributions to research and scholarship for U. S. Congressional publishing is unequaled. He significantly influenced the creation of access tools in positions at CIS and later at Readex that opened to scholars the incredible treasures published in the Congressional Serial Set.”

Numerous letters were submitted to the Awards Committee outlining August’s career within the Congressional Information Service, LexisNexis and Readex. Beginning with his work, in 1973, as an abstractor and indexer, his editorships for a number of successful projects within CIS and LexisNexis and finally his current position as Readex Digital Vice President, Documents Division, August’s work within ALA/GODORT was documented as well. A large part of his GODORT activities has centered on work as a devoted member and as an active participant in the work of the Rare and Endangered Government Publications Committee.

Writing letters of commendation for some individuals is difficult. It was easy to see that this was not a problem in August’s case. The letters of support contained many accolades of his work and all the letters received could supply material to quote. One of August’s writers stated, “His career traces the modern-day use of congressional documents from rare original publications, through the development of microfiche in the 1970’s, and into the age of digitization. In all professions there are significant events and rare milestone events. August’s many contributions to congressional and legislative research can only be measured against those rare milestone events.”

Therefore, in honor of his years of work with Congressional material, work that will be used by many future documents librarians, researchers and students, GODORT presents August Imholtz with the 2007 James Bennett Childs Award.

A natty booklover from Maryland was known for his wardrobe so neatly planned There was certainty that, when it came to cravat, his valise held not one single four-in-hand

-- George Barnum, U.S. Government Printing Office

LexisNexis/GODORT/ALA "Documents to the People" Award

Recipient: Cathy N. Hartman

The 2007 Lexis/Nexis/GODORT Documents to the People Award is given to Cathy Nelson Hartman, Assistant Dean for Digital and Information Technologies at the University of North Texas Libraries, for her ongoing work making digital information, and specifically digital government information, not only widely available but highly useable to all.

While still Head of Government Documents at UNT in 1997, Cathy worked with GPO to create the Cybercemetery, a crucial first effort in protecting and preserving Web-based government information from defunct agencies. That success, which has won worldwide acclaim, has led to a variety of subsequent projects and initiatives at UNT, including the Portal to Texas History, which makes a vast selection of historical information available to users at every skill level, and brings together libraries, schools, academic institutions, and museums in a unique partnership to provide access and interpretation.

Cathy’s contributions in our professional community are legion: a chair of the GODORT Ad Hoc Committee on Digitization, chair of Depository Library Council and chair of its Electronic Preservation Committee, and her term as GODORT Councilor on ALA Council, to name only a few. Her work in these and other highly visible arenas (while leading many who know her to believe that she never sleeps!) demonstrate a passion for and commitment to the notion of “documents to the people.”

To each endeavor Cathy brings a trio of strengths:

• A passionate belief in the fundamental importance of government information to a free society;
• An unerring instinct for innovation paired with a belief in the power of technology to serve the common good, and a sense of practicality that keeps both grounded, and;
• (as one of the nominators phrased it,) “An analytical mind which sparkles with lively curiosity and dogged determination,” paired with a quiet but unfaltering sense of humor.

The object of the Documents to the People Award is to honor a person or institution, “that has most effectively encouraged the use of government documents in support of library service.” Cathy Hartman’s work has helped establish the University of North Texas as a digital center of excellence, helped guide the Government Printing Office’s transition into the digital future, and as a mentor and a teacher has developed the next generation of documents librarians. Her work is the embodiment of the award’s theme: Documents to the People.

NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/ALA Catharine J. Reynolds Research Grant Award

Recipient: Chi-Shiou Lin

Chi-Shiou Lin, a Ph.D. student from the School of Library & Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the 2007 recipient of the NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/ALA Catharine J. Reynolds Award. Mr. Lin plans to use the award to support his dissertation research on “The Conceptualization of Government Publications on the World Wide Web.” His study compares the way librarians and government agencies conceptualize born-digital government information and how this affects the discovery and identification of online publications. What qualifies as a “government publication” impacts preservation practices and, ultimately, permanent public access to the information. Mr. Lin is using genre theory and phenomenology as a framework for his research.

The award will help to cover the costs of conducting and transcribing interviews and will improve the richness of the data included in Mr. Lin’s study. He plans to publish his findings in journal articles and presentations.

Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award

Recipient: Thomas A. Stave

The recipient of the 2007 Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Award is Tom Stave, Professor and Head of the Document Center at the University of Oregon Library. The Hoduski award recognizes documents librarians who have made significant contributions to government documents librarianship but may not be known nationally. Tom’s influence on documents librarianship since he came to Oregon in 1980 has taken many forms, including personally mentoring documents librarians across the state, organizing the Documents Interest Group of Oregon (DIGOR), and drafting legislation to revise the statute authorizing Oregon’s state depository program.

This award also recognizes librarians who have contributed to state, local and international documents librarianship. Here too Tom has contributed significantly. His “Data for Local Communities” web site containing statistical and other information about the Pacific Northwest was cited by several nominators as just one example of his commitment to making state and local information available to citizens. Tom has also actively collected and cataloged hard-to-find documents from local governments and regional offices of federal agencies, including county and city land use plans and National Environmental Policy Act documents.

While his collection and access activities are impressive, Tom’s nominators were most eloquent about his influence on other librarians in the state. He has encouraged student workers to attend library school, organized training opportunities on topics like finding documents of Native American tribal organizations or finding statistical information on sub-state areas. Librarians who started their careers at the University of Oregon have taken what they learned from Tom to libraries across the country.

Tom’s thorough knowledge of documents collections across Oregon makes him a crucial hub for referring questions, and nominators praise both his knowledge and his approachability when they are working to track down an elusive document.

In recognition of his 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 Tom Stave.

W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship

Recipient: Michael Schmidt

The 2007 recipient of the W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship is Michael Schmidt M.A. candidate in the School of Information Resources and Library Science at the University of Arizona. Michael currently serves as a library specialist in the Government Documents department at Arizona State University’s Hayden Library. However, his practicum at the Tempe Public Library demonstrates his interest in possibly using his skills as a Government Document specialist beyond academia in a public library.

Michael’s interest in librarianship stems from that same inner quality that drives the profession, namely a passion to serve the public. Whether it’s finding the answer to that elusive reference question or the thrill of teaching, Michael sums it up simply as, “I enjoy helping people.” His career aspirations build upon his principle commitment to broadly “connect library users with the information and services they need” and his fundamental belief that this connection will make “positive changes in their lives.”

Michael’s interest and commitment to preservation and his work with rare government documents is equally worth noting. However, it is his grasp of the complexity of the issues related to our emerging role in public service as our collections quickly move from tangible to intangible that is most impressive. It is a pleasure to award this scholarship to an individual who will join us in envisioning a new model of service in our emerging digital age.