On March 19, 2003 the Goddard Library will be honored at the Library of Congress with the Federal Library of the Year 2002 Award. This much-coveted award is the result of a commitment to excellence, hard work, and vision. With over 1,000 federal libraries, competition for this award is very keen.

The Federal Library of the Year Award recognizes and commends outstanding, innovative, and sustained achievements during a particular Fiscal Year by a federal library or information center.

The award consists of a plaque and a certificate for the Library. In addition, a separate plaque which recognizes each year’s recipients will be displayed at the FLICC (Federal Library and Information Center Committee) offices at the Library of Congress.

The Award’s selection criteria are based on the FY02 achievements of the Library. Achievements recognized include: mission support, the extent to which the Library assisted in fulfilling its organization’s mission; creativity and innovation in services, including bringing new services to users and marketing existing services in an exceptional manner; and customer satisfaction, the extent to which the Library met the needs of its users.

The awards committee identified two key factors responsible for the Goddard Library winning Federal Library of the Year 2002. The committee specifically noted that the Goddard Library “is recognized for its promotion of various innovative technologies and approaches to knowledge management.” The Library was also recognized “for eliminating the boundaries between traditional library support and the need for preserving knowledge unique to the Goddard Space Flight Center.”

Highlights from the nomination include:

• The Goddard Library is a valued partner in the execution of the Goddard mission.

• The Library’s extensive and interactive Web site supports the research initiatives of the Center.

• In FY02 the Library developed the capability to Webcast Center colloquia. The Library is actively involved in digitally archiving and preserving the Center’s colloquia.

• The successful IMAGES digital archiving project.

• The Library developed a Web-based Project Directory that provides unified search accessibility.

• The Library partnered with groups who are furthering Knowledge Management (KM) on Center.

• The Library hosted an event showcasing Center-wide KM initiatives and projects. Center Director, Al Diaz, applauded the Library as a leader in KM for Goddard and NASA.

• Employed a Visiting Committee composed of experts in the fields of library and information science who provided an analysis and performance evaluation of both operations and meeting the Goddard mission.

• Maintained an active and robust Library Council which builds in additional accountability in ensuring that the Library is providing services that meet the needs of the Goddard community.

• Customer service received high marks for all services provided.

• The Goddard Library was one of the first federal libraries to have a publicly available Web site, and continues to grow and enhance its functionality.

• Web site activity continues to increase.

• Ingenuity of Library staff.

• Actively sought partnerships through consortia to better provide access to otherwise cost prohibitive electronic resources.

The Library is proud of the accomplishments of FY02. However, we do not plan to rest on our laurels but will continue to stretch and grow the Library, so that it is worthy of being part of the world class institution that is NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.