Federal Librarian Fall 2010

Fabulous Feds

Blane K. Dessy has been named executive director of the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) and the Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) at the Library of Congress, effective June 20, 2010.




Mr. Dessy brings a wealth of solid leadership at the local, state, and federal level,” said Deanna Marcum, associate librarian for Library Services. “He has worked collaboratively with a wide variety of libraries and governing bodies, and we are delighted that he is joining the Library of Congress.”




Mr. Dessy recently was the director of the U.S. Department of Justice Library Staff, a position he had held since 2000. In directing the law libraries that serve the department’s senior management offices and litigating divisions, Mr. Dessy instituted a number of innovative service improvements, including a robust virtual library, a new integrated library system, a digitization program, and special programming to reach underserved constituents.




Mr. Dessy is an adjunct instructor in Library Management and at the Federal Libraries Institute at the Catholic University of America, School of Library and Information Science.




Tiffany Smith, Program Analyst, US State Department, designed and executed the Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) program; a Department of State virtual internship program that provides opportunities for university students to work virtually with posts abroad to meet foreign policy objectives. Ms. Smith’s contributions did much to facilitate the successful conduct of US diplomacy in the information age, and to significantly strengthen knowledge management support to the Department of State and American diplomats. The VSFS program is part of a growing effort by the State Department to harness technology and a commitment to global service among young Americans, to facilitate new and expanded forms of successful diplomatic engagement between the US and other nations, organizations and people around the world. The Virtual Student Foreign Service Program successfully facilitated a partnership between nearly 40 U.S. diplomatic missions around the world and approximately 50 students (students who were also former State Department interns) attending universities throughout the United States. Ms. Smith also worked closely with university administrations, and as a result several universities are now offering official credits to their students who participate in the VSFS program. Ms. Smith received the 2010 Nextgov Award.




Erica Stiner is the new Director at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Patients and Post Library. Ms. Stiner replaces Eileen Hauser who has relocated to the west coast.




Dr. Arlene Luster has come out of retirement and taken the position of Community Library Director at Wiesbaden Army MWR Library in Germany.




Barbara Hildebrand is the new Cataloger/Metadata Librarian at the US Geological Survey as of August 2010. Barbara is a 2008 graduate of Indiana University. She was previously working as a Metadata/Digital Librarian (contractor) for the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Library in Maryland.




The Air Force Library Program is pleased to announce new Library Directors:
Alison Vasquez at Edwards AFB, CA;
Cheryl Smith-Cook at Altus AFB, OK;
Rebekah Chapman at Keesler AFB, MS;
Tekla Slide at Warren AFB, WY and
Mehdi Pieloor at Minot AFB, ND.




The United States Marine Corps Library Program is pleased to announce new Library Directors:
Judy Bradford at Camp Lejeune, NC;
Linda Bryan at MCAS New River, NC and
Amy Terrell at MCAGCC 20 Palms, CA.




Ms. Antoinette Satterfield, formerly the Government Resources Librarian at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, joined the Nimitz Library, U.S. Naval Academy, August 2, 2010, as Reference-Bibliographer for Political Science and Economics.




Professor Richard H. Werking stepped down as the Nimitz Library Director at the US Naval Academy in late July 2010. He did this to move full-time into the USNA History Dept, where he’s taught on a joint appointment since coming to USNA in 1991. He will be teaching 3 classes, two in US Naval History and one in the history of US foreign relations.




Though no longer the Library Director, he will continue to play a less active role on the Library’s staff as Professor of Library Science.




Prof. Werking is also stepping down from representing Navy academic libraries on the Consortium of Naval Libraries Council.




Formerly Associate Library Director,
Patti Patterson is serving as Interim Library Director while a national search is conducted to fill the position; review of applications will begin on 1 November 2010.




Kenneth M. Kozel (a student FAFLRT member) has accepted an overseas faculty librarian position in Amman, Jordan and will be head of the secondary library and assist in building the senior library at Queen Rania Al Abdullah’s private school The International Academy of Amman.




Carol Koenig, an Army librarian for 32 years, retired from the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) in mid-August. She came to the Army library program with two Bachelor’s degrees and two Master’s degrees; her Library Science degree is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.




After previous school and academic library experience in NC, Carol became an Army NAF post librarian in Europe, where she remained for 16 years. As the European Recreation Society’s Legislative Advocate, she was instrumental in obtaining passage of the first NAF/APF Portability law in 1991. Although Carol “converted” and became an APF employee, she is pleased to be retiring in the Army’s NAF Retirement and 401k plans.




Carol’s first Army CONUS employment was as Rare Book Cataloger at the West Point Cadet Library; she moved to NGIC in 2002 and has been active in MLW and Intelligence Community librarian groups.




Although originally from Wisconsin, Carol has moved to Fearrington Village in NC, where she would be happy to receive visitors.




Marie Wakefield, Library Director Kaden AFB Library, Okinawa, Japan is retiring 30 September 2010. Ms. Wakefield is an Army Brat. Her 34 year career includes Academic, Research, Technical and Military Base Libraries as well as College Teaching. Ms. Wakefield has managed multiple library systems; accomplished research for scientists and children on subjects ranging from armadillos to space travel; worked for several components of DoD as well as having a prior life in a College Library. Previous federal assignments have been Army Aviation Systems Command St. Louis, MO;




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