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When asked about her favorite book, Tiffany Hughey, a U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern library technician, was surprisingly stumped.
That’s one of the most difficult questions anyone had ever asked her, she said.
“There are just too many,” Hughey said. “But if I had to chose, it would be ‘The Color Purple,’ by Alice Walker, and ‘10-10-10,’ by Suzy Welch, and finance books from Suze Orman. Those are my favorite books.”
The Federal Library and Information Network, or FEDLINK, recently named Hughey 2012 Federal Library Technician of the Year. The organization of federal agencies works closely with the Library of Congress.
While the award is a first for the KMC, Hughey’s dedication and love of libraries goes back to her upbringing. Her interest in books began at a very early age and remained with her, Hughey said.
“We didn’t have a lot growing up, and my mom always instilled in us education, reading and going to the library because it’s free,” said Hughey, who’s served as a garrison library technician for the past three years. “It’s just been so important
to us and to my family. My mom always read.
She was an avid reader and would read anywhere from four to five books a week. So it was just instilled in us.”
The Cleveland, Ohio, native admitted she was shocked when she found out that she had won. She hopes the award will shine the spotlight on others across the community.
“It’s kind of two-fold. I’m excited and I’m appreciative of the award. For me, it puts a positive light on libraries. It puts us out there more than what people would kind of see us as and it just makes the garrison look good. I’m happy about it,” she said.
“It’s kind of two-fold. I’m excited and I’m appreciative of the award. For me, it puts a positive light on libraries. It puts us out there more than
what people would kind of see us as and it just makes the garrison look good. I’m happy about it.”
— Tiffany Hughey,
U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern library technician
Shawn Friend-Begin, the garrison’s supervisory librarian, nominated Hughey. She praised Hughey’s efforts in organizing and staffing the garrison’s annual summer reading program and her successful partnerships with children’s programs in the garrison. She also highlighted Hughey’s improvements to programming, services and her role in training staff.
“The awards highlight the important work being accomplished on a daily basis by federal employees,” Friend-Begin said. “Locally, it highlights the community members and the impact Army libraries have in the community — professionally, recreationally and educationally. And, more importantly, the award shows how one very dedicated and
driven civil servant can impact a community so strongly.”
FEDLINK presented the awards during an event Wednesday at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The 2012 Federal Librarian of the Year award went to Joyce Greene at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The winners’ names remain on permanent display in the FEDLINK offices at the Library of Congress.
The Kaiserslautern Main Library is located in Bldg. 3810 on Landstuhl’s Wilson Barracks. For more information on U.S. Army libraries in the KMC, call 06371-86-7322 or go online and visit www.kaiserslautern.armymwr.com.
