ProQuest/GODORT/ALA "Documents to the People" Award
The winner of the 2019 ProQuest/GODORT/ALA “Documents to the People” Award is Laura Harper, retired government documents librarian from the University of Mississippi. This award honors an individual, library, institution, or other non-commercial group that has most effectively encouraged the use of government documents in support of library service.
The support letters for Laura Harper focused on her dedication to providing government documents in her distinguished 45-year career at the University of Mississippi, her contributions to the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL), and her generous donations to the University of Mississippi Library after her retirement. Laura was part of the inaugural Steering Committee for a new effort by the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL), the Collaborative Federal Depository Program. She provided invaluable leadership and guidance in this initiative, and also established the Center of Excellence Collections for the Civil Rights Commission and the Internal Revenue Service at the University of Mississippi.
Upon her retirement, Laura continued her work in providing government documents to students and researchers. Among her donations was access to the ProQuest Congressional database for the University of Mississippi Library. The Laura G. Harper Government Publications Fund was established and continues to receive donations honoring Laura’s service to the Ole Miss Library and the University.
Larry Romans Mentorship Award
The American Library Association (ALA) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender and Government Documents Round Tables (GLBTRT and GODORT) are proud to announce July Siebecker as the 2019 recipient of the Larry Romans Mentorship Award.
The Award's namesake, Larry Romans, mentored numerous librarians at Vanderbilt University, where he worked for over 30 years. For decades, he was also a tremendous leader and mentor in the Tennessee Library Association, providing a positive influence on the association and the careers of innumerable librarians, many of whom have gone on to be leaders in ALA. Of particular note, during his 23 years of service to ALA Council, Larry mentored countless new and veteran councilors.
As the Youth Services Librarian at the Hubbard Memorial Library in Ludlow, Massachusetts, July supported and mentored many teens who found a home away from home at the library. “With kindness, patience, and gentle guidance, July helped the youth of her community grow into thoughtful, kind, confident adults who, unsurprisingly, have gone on to pursue numerous careers in librarianship, where they, too, have found fulfillment in creating the same safe spaces for children and teens in their communities," said Ana Elisa de Campos Salles, Chair, GLBTRT.
"This is an amazing honor," said July. "I didn't have the good fortune to know Larry, but I think he might agree that passing on what we love is one of the best things we can do with our lives, and I am humbled that my mentorship work is now part of his legacy. I work in a small library located in a small town, but no place is too small to have a big impact when we believe in the work we do."
Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award
Kris Kasianovitz is the 2019 winner of the Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founder’s Award. The award recognizes individuals who may not be known at the national level, but who have made significant contributions to the field of local, state, national, or international government documents librarianship. This award recognizes those whose contributions have benefited the profession, influencing the field beyond an individual’s institution. Kris Kasianovitz is the Local, State, and International Government Information Librarian at Stanford University. A former recipient of the W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship, she has passion, enthusiasm, and expertise in areas of government documents that are often overlooked in the professional discourse, including the UN depository system, copyright issues of state and local government information, city and county data and digital infrastructure, and web archives of government domains.
The award recognizes contributions to the profession as we know it, such as excellence in networking and mentoring, or research and reference. Kris stands out in those areas, but her contributions also move the profession forward, beyond of the four walls of the library and into areas where the information policies are created and implemented. She has worked with state legislatures and local government agencies, who may be unaware that not all government information is free and in the public domain. She collaborates in the digital space of local government; one example is the Civic Switchboard project, where Kris is collaborating with the San Mateo County Open Data Outreach Coordinator to ensure their data and GIS products are accessible and preserved for the long-term. She successfully brings together stakeholders from her own institution, the University of California system, the California State Library, and the California State Archive to achieve goals such as the Archive of the California Government Domain, CA.gov. Finally, Kris has designed instruction sessions and workshops on civic engagement with local government and understanding the legislative process at the state and local levels which are given not only to academic courses but to staff and student organizations on campus as well.
Margaret T. Lane / Virginia F. Saunders Memorial Research Award
The 2019 Margaret T. Lane/Virginia F. Saunders Memorial Research Award is awarded to the authors of the book Government Information Essentials, published by ALA and edited by Susanne Caro. The authors include Jane Canfield, Susanne Caro, David Dillard, Latanya N. Jenkins, Hayley Johnson, Valery King, Shari Laster, Lori Looney, Andrew Lopez, Leasha E. Martin, Vickie Mix, Lisa Pritchard, Aimée C. Quinn, Antoinette W. Satterfield, Julia Stewart, Jill Vassilakos-Long, and Paula L. Webb. Each of these authors provides an expert look into various aspects of working with government information in all kinds of libraries. From collection management to advocating and promoting government information, this book gathers real-world insight to guide librarians in their work with federal, state, and international government sources. The Awards Committee particularly notes the contribution this publication makes to the library and information science field of government information librarianship. With the ubiquitous existence of government documents and information in every type of library, both experienced and newer librarians for government information can find compelling perspectives and ideas in this volume.
GODORT-Sponsored American Library Association Emerging Leader
The 2019 GODORT-sponsored ALA Emerging Leader is Azalea Janel Ebbay of San Diego, California. Azalea is a Librarian II at the San Diego Central Public Library, where she serves as the FDLP Coordinator and Patent and Trademark Resource Center Coordinator. The ALA Emerging Leader Program is a leadership development program which enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity.
The GODORT awards selection committee was especially impressed with Azalea’s experience organizing a mental health resources fair, her commitment to diversity, and her proposal to create a civic engagement toolkit as a project for GODORT.
W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship
Ben Chiewphasa and Lauren Hall are the 2019 recipients of the W. David Rozkuszka Scholarship. This scholarship provides financial assistance to individuals currently working with government documents in a library and trying to complete the master’s degree in library science.
Ben is currently pursuing an MLIS degree at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He works at the University of Montana’s Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library as Adjunct Government Information Librarian and Cataloging Specialist for Government Documents and Maps. He also serves as the Regional Coordinator for Montana, providing support for selective depositories in the state. Ben is pursuing a career that combines data information literacy and research consultations in order to continue “to teach others about the wonderful world of government documents” and hopes to someday “facilitate a government information center/space that not only reflects the richness of federal information, but also government information at the local, state, and international levels.”
Lauren Hall is an MLIS student at San José State University and works full-time as a Resource Management Specialist at California State University, Stanislaus. In addition to the regular processing of government documents, she has also begun an assessment of the library's selection profile and has developed a plan for weeding the government documents collection in preparation for the relocation of the collection during the library’s renovation. Lauren also enjoys volunteering for the State Agency Databases project where she maintains the LibGuide for Utah. One of her colleagues notes that “Lauren has done an amazing job of bringing our documents collection into the 21st century.” Her career goal is to become an instructional or reference librarian and to continue working with government documents.
NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/ALA Catharine J. Reynolds Research Grant
Hayley Johnson of Louisiana State University is the 2019 recipient of the NewsBank/Readex/GODORT/ALA Catharine J. Reynolds Award. This award provides funding for research in the field of documents librarianship, or in a related area that would benefit the individual’s performance as a documents librarian or make a contribution to the field.
Hayley’s research project examines the United States military service of American Indians and Japanese Americans during World War II for common relational factors to provide insights into what compelled each group to serve. With a shared history of discrimination, forced assimilation, and forced relocation based on a dominant societal fear of the “other,” these two groups’ experiences parallel each other on numerous levels. One of the core elements that designated these two groups as “other” was language, which was the very skill that the U.S. needed to win the war. The Reynolds Award funding will support Hayley’s research into documents and other primary materials to highlight how the concepts of belonging, removal, and violence altered these two groups. Ultimately, this project aims to shed light on a complex question for groups designated as “other”: what does it mean to be an American?