The Library of Congress' Federal Library and Information Network has given its Federal Librarian of the Year award to an Arkansan.
Edward Poletti, chief of learning resources at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, was honored during a ceremony Tuesday at the Library of Congress' James Madison Memorial Building in Washington, D.C.
Poletti, 63, is a medical librarian and assists at VA facilities in Little Rock and North Little Rock.
The Bryant resident also helped coordinate a major national study on the services provided by federal medical libraries and librarians.
The 2017 Federal Libraries Section's Library Value Study contained a survey of 1,100 participants, including officials from the VA, Army, Navy and 74 federal health science libraries.
The study highlighted the benefits of library services to patients and medical providers.
Poletti, a New York native, served at VA facilities in West Virginia and Illinois and worked for the Army in El Paso, Texas, before coming to Arkansas in 2004.
The collections that Poletti oversees in Arkansas are important, according to Dr. Richard Harper, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System's associate chief of staff for education.
"They serve as resources for employees and patients," he said.
The librarian has "a real passion for attention to detail and curiosity about things," Harper added.
Poletti has been a federal librarian for 36 years, including 14 with the system in the Little Rock area.
He also earned the Medical Library Association's 2018 Lois Ann Colaianni Award for Excellence and Achievement in Hospital Librarianship.
That award goes to an association member "who has made significant contributions to the profession through overall distinction or leadership in hospital library administration or service, production of a definitive publication related to hospital librarianship, teaching, research, advocacy, or the development or application of innovative technology to hospital librarianship," the association's website states.
In an interview, Poletti said he was honored to be recognized and finds satisfaction in his work.
"I just enjoy helping people. That's the biggest thing," he said.
Some Americans wonder whether libraries and librarians are still necessary in the Internet age.
Poletti said librarians continue to play a vital role, particularly medical librarians.
"Somebody has to retrieve the information and get the right information," Poletti said. "You can go on Google and get a million retrievals, but a librarian will be able to narrow it down and pinpoint exactly what you need."
In a written statement, the medical center director, Dr. Margie Scott, called Poletti "a true asset to everyone at the Medical Center, and to countless others throughout the federal library system. "His dedication, skill, intelligence and demeanor are amazing. This award is very much earned and deserved."
Metro on 05/07/2018