The Francis Keppel
Award is named after one of the best known U.S.
Commissioners of Education who served from 1962 to 1965 and who was also a distinguished Member of NCLIS from 1978 to 1983. Francis Keppel was an early and enthusiastic advocate of relia
ble and regularly reported national, state, and local library statistics that would provide a basis for public policy formulation and the improvement of library services to the entire spectrum of the U.S. population.
The Award is in the form of a working abacus with mounted engraved brass plates and rests on a black lacquered stand. The Award is made each year to the qualifying Chief Officers of State Library Agencies and State and Territory Data Coordinators for su bmitting the most prompt, complete, and high quality public library data.
The first Francis Keppel Awards were earned by four states at the 1992 annual Training Workshop for the FSCS State Data Coordinators. In this short time, all but three states have earned the Keppel Award. The 40 states earning the 1996 Awards are:
ALASKA Karen Crane, State Librarian; Mary Jennings, State Data Coordinator
ARIZONA Mary Johnson, State Librarian, (acting); Jan Elliott, State Data Coordinator
CALIFORNIA Kevin Starr, State Librarian; Liz Gibson, State Data Coordinator
COLORADO Nancy Bolt, State Librarian; Keith Curry Lance, State Data Coordinator
CONNECTICUT Richard G. Akeroyd, Jr., State Librarian; Leon Shatkin, State Data Coordinator
DELAWARE Tom Sloan, State Librarian; Tom Dunlop, State Data Coordinator
DIST. OF COLUMBIA Hardy Franklin, Director (retired); Rita Thompson-Joyner, State Data Coordinator
FLORIDA Barratt Wilkins, State Librarian; Lawrence Webster, State Data Coordinator
GEORGIA Thomas A. Ploeg, State Librarian; Diana Ray Tope, State Data Coordinator
IDAHO Charles A. Bolles, State Librarian; Frank Nelson, State Data Coordinator
ILLINOIS Bridget L. Lamont, State Librarian; Stanley E. Adams, State Data Coordinator
INDIANA C. Ray Ewick, State Librarian; Roberta Brooker, State Data Coordinator
IOWA Sharman Smith, State Librarian; Gerry Rowland, State Data Coordinator
KANSAS Duane F. Johnson, State Librarian; Roy Bird, State Data Coordinator
KENTUCKY James A. Nelson, State Librarian; Jay Bank, State Data Coordinator
LOUISIANA Thomas F. Jaques, State Librarian; Gretchen Fairbanks, State Data Coordinator
MAINE J. Gary Nichols, State Librarian; Karl Beiser, State Data Coordinator
MARYLAND J. Maurice Travillian, State Librarian; Denise Davis, State Data Coordinator
MASSACHUSETTS Keith M. Fiels, State Librarian; Dianne Carty, State Data Coordinator
MICHIGAN George Needham, State Librarian; Naomi Krefman, State Data Coordinator
MISSISSIPPI Mary Ellen Pellington, State Librarian; Lynn Shurden, State Data Coordinator
MISSOURI Sara Parker, State Librarian; Jim Nelson, State Data Coordinator
MONTANA Diane Gunderson, State Data Coordinator
NEBRASKA Rod Wagner, State Librarian; Kathleen "Kit" Keller, State Data Coordinator
NEVADA Joan Kerschner, State Librarian; Diane Baker, State Data Coordinator
NEW MEXICO Karen J. Watkins, State Librarian; Scott Sheldon, State Data Coordinator
NEW YORK Joseph Shubert, State Librarian (retired); Carol Ann Desch, State Data Coordinator
NORTH CAROLINA Sandra Cooper, State Librarian; Diana Young, State Data Coordinator
NORTH DAKOTA Joseph Linnertz, State Librarian (acting); Mike Jaugstetter, State Data Coordinator
OHIO Michael Lucas, State Librarian; Darla Cottrill, State Data Coordinator
OKLAHOMA Robert L. Clark, Jr., State Librarian; Jan Blakely, State Data Coordinator
RHODE ISLAND Barbara Weaver, State Librarian; Ann Piascik, State Data Coordinator
SOUTH CAROLINA James B. Johnson, Jr., State Librarian; Libby Law, State Data Coordinator
TENNESSEE Edwin Gleaves, State Librarian; Jacci Herrick, State Data Coordinator
UTAH Amy Owen, State Librarian; Sandi Long, State Data Coordinator
VERMONT Patricia Klinck, State Librarian; Marianne Kotch, State Data Coordinator
WASHINGTON Nancy Zussy, State Librarian; Jan Walsh, State Data Coordinator
WEST VIRGINIA R. David Childers, State Librarian (acting); J.D. Waggoner, State Data Coordinator
WISCONSIN Wm. J. Wilson, State Librarian; Alan Zimmerman, State Data Coordinator
WYOMING Helen Meadors Maul, State Librarian; Judy Yeo, State Data Coordinator
States receiving six Keppel Awards to date are: Iowa, Ohio; and Washington.
States winning for the fifth time are: Delaware, Rhode Island; South Carolina; Tennessee; and Utah.
States winning for the fourth time are: Arizona, California, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
States winning for the third time are: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming.
States winning for the second time are: Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, New York.
And, the first time winner is: District of Columbia.
"The purpose of the National Center for Education Statistics shall be to collect, analyze, and disseminate statistics and other data related to education in the United States and in other Nations." — Section 406(b) of the General Education Provisions Act , as amended (20 U.S.C. 1221e-1).
The U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science is a permanent, independent agency of the Federal government charged by law (P.L. 91-345) to advise the President and Congress on national and international library and information policie s and plans.