F e d e r a l    D e p o s i t o r y    L i b r a r y    P r o g r a m

In August, I received a phone call from Judy Russell telling me we had been selected. I couldn’t believe my ears; I was in total shock. I emailed Judy later to ask for more details because my brain must have shut down when she told me we had won. One condition from the GPO was that our achievement had to be kept a secret until the Fall FDLP Conference. This was very hard to do! Luckily, my regional was informed, so I could share the news and my excitement with him.

GPO went all out providing my library director, Linda Saferite, and me with an all expense paid trip to the fall conference. The staff at GPO were efficient, pleasant, and always available to solve any problems we encountered and answer even the silliest of questions we had. Linda and I took time off from the conference on Monday to pay personal visits to the two Senators from Oklahoma and to invite them to the Tuesday evening reception. This visit resulted in a picture opportunity with the Senior Senator from Oklahoma, Don Nickles. Judy Russell very kindly met Linda and me at Senator Nickles’ office for a group picture with the award.

Tuesday morning our library was announced as the winner of the award. Linda and I were introduced and received a framed certificate proclaiming the Tulsa City-County Library as the Federal Depository of the Year. The secret was finally out and everyone was invited to a reception that evening in our honor.

Tuesday evening was a wonderful night. Refreshments were provided by GPO and the accolades from colleagues and government officials were so rewarding. Linda and I received another award from GPO at the reception - a beautiful crystal statue recognizing our library as Federal Depository Library of the Year. The Mayor of Tulsa even proclaimed November 2003 as Government Information Month in the City of Tulsa.

I want to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone at GPO for this recognition; TCCL is honored to be recognized as the first Federal Depository Library of the Year. I would also like to thank my wonderful regional librarian John Phillips, Oklahoma State University. John is there whenever I need him for support and advice; he is a supreme example of an effective regional librarian. Without his guidance, none of this would have been possible.

I encourage every FDLP member to submit a nomination next year. Let’s raise the bar, celebrate our successes, and honor the work we do!

Suzanne Sears
Government Documents Librarian
Tulsa City County Library
2003 Federal Depository Library of the Year

Director Linda Saferite, Suzanne Sears, and Public Printer Bruce James

Best Wishes