TLA GODORT/MARCIVE "Knowledge is Power" Award
Bonnie Grobar
A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governours, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. -- James Madison
Acceptance Remarks April 25, 2002
When I graduated from college with a degree in English Lit, I tried to find work. This was in Albuquerque, NM in 1964. At that time about the only place to get a good job was Sandia Corporation, then a part of the Atomic Energy Commission. I spent 2 weeks trying to pass the typing test before the personnel folks took pity on me, and suggested I go over to the library where they did not require a typing test for "clerical" jobs. While there I was involved with many different government documents, most of them classified. In fact, it was there I learned about things called "government documents" for the first time; so my relationship with promoting their use goes back a very long time. I was actually the "documents clerk," responsible for shelving and retrieving them from the closed stack areas. I had so much fun, I decided to go for the MLS!
My relationship with Marcive began in 1974 when I was working out at McDonald Observatory outside of Ft. Davis. In addition to working with the astronomy library, we started a collection for the residents. I learned about Marcive through the librarian at Alpine, and worked with the company in San Antonio to get cards for the McDonald Community Library. I was impressed then, as always, with their helpful, professional folks.
Thank you!
