Alum’s Library Honored

Steve Beleu, a 1975 Oklahoma Baptist University graduate, recently accepted the Federal Library Depository of the Year award for 2009 on behalf of his employer, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, at the Fall Federal Depository Library Conference and Depository Library Council meeting in Arlington, Va., in October. 

Beleu accepted the award along with Cliff Broadworth, the Oklahoma Department of Library's reference librarian. The award was administered by the U.S. Government Printing Office.



Cliff Broadworth (left) and OBU alum, Steve Beleu (right) of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries receive the Library of the Year Award from the Government Printing Office.

While on Bison Hill, Beleu majored in English and worked in the Government Documents Collection in the Mabee Learning Center. After graduating from OBU, he decided to continue his education at the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a master's degree in library science.

Beleu began working in the Federal Government Information Division for the Oklahoma Department of Libraries in March 1979. Shortly afterward he became the Regional Depository Librarian, in charge of directing the division.

Approximately 1,242 libraries in the United States participate in the Federal Library Depository Program, Beleu said. The mission of these libraries is to make federal government information available to everyone. The Government Printing Office first developed the Federal Library Depository of the Year award in 2003 and, through a process of nominations and evaluations, the office decides which library deserves the honor. The award is given to both the Federal Library Depository Program librarian as well as an additional person in the library.