Federal Libraries have always had the authority to grant intangible prizes. These are prizes and awards that have no value in themselves, but can have great importance to the receiver. The real purpose of the award is also to create intangible ribbons (the Golden
Chord) of good will between the library and the awardees. This use of intangibles is one of the secrets of good kingmanship.
"Employee of the Month" or "Government Employee of the Month (GEM)"
prizes can lead to such dainties as a special parking place for a month.
A certificate is nice, and this award always looks good on a resume. An annual "Patron of the Year", "Volunteer of the Year" or "2010 Friend of the Library" plaque is nice, and recognizes people who help out a bunch, and who are otherwise unrecognized. One library I know has a list of books that it would like to have, but usually don't quite have the funds to purchase.
The Employee of the Month is given the choice of selecting one of these books from the list, which then have a bookplate placed inside saying it was selected for the library by so-and-so. The money is thus spent on a gift (get it?), rather than the usual selection process, so the library wins, the collection wins, the employee (often a technician who often has no authority in the library) gets to make a selection.
Special titles can also be used, some in fun, some serious.
Anyone can spend some time and money and get a "Master of Library Science", but how many "Baron of Librarianship" or "Princess of Librarians" certificate holders do you know? When I worked in Korea, the library staff were terrified of my supervisor, who as an older woman, was able to lambast anything and anyone she wanted, and was often very rough with her tongue. She was called "The Dragon Lady" by the Koreans.
Annoyed that my staff paid more attention to her infrequent visits than they did to me, I had a special nameplate made for my desk, with the letters "C.D.L." placed after my name. It stood for "Chief Dragon Librarian." Thirty years later, I still enjoy looking at it.
Many scientists get books on their own, to review for a journal or for consideration as textbooks in classes, and after reading them pass the books on to the library as donations. A small brass plaque on a desk or a special bookplate with their name on it inside each book is a nice reward. Or simply their photograph framed and put on the library wall.
Federal buildings have strict rules about naming, but rooms, carrels or stack areas within the library can be named after donors, deceased librarians (hopefully with rich surviving relatives) or other persons who helped the library. Indeed, within many agencies, the library has a prime location for these honors. The US Geological Survey Library, for instance, named its map collection after Mark Pangborn, who was the map librarian there during World War II.
A library friends group can often offer a prize instead of the library. This still keeps the library in the news, and is exempt from many of the federal regulations on prize giving.
This whole awards thing can come down in ruins if it is seen as brown nosing to upper management. People up the chain of command should not be honored; only people down the chain of command, or sideways (patrons not otherwise part of the hierarchy, for instance) or those outside the government entirely. What you want to do is to collect friends from outside the chain of command or even the agency, who will probably support your library in time of need tomorrow.
Remember, the purpose of these types of prizes are to maintain morale among the staff, and most importantly, to promote the library.
They really should have a main purpose for publicity and good will toward the library, which pays off during budget times. The agencies' public affairs office should always be contacted when one is given, and photographs of the event made and presented.
My opinions, anyway.
Lee R. Lee Hadden
Geospatial Information Library (Map Library)) U. S. Army Geospatial Center
ATTN: CEAGS-WSG (Hadden)
7701 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, VA 22315-3864
(703) 428-9206
Robert.L.Hadden@usace.army.mil
