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Ernest G. (Gil) Baldwin III was chosen as the 2005 recipient of the James Bennett Childs award. After 32 years of dedicated service to the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), Gil Baldwin has earned great respect and abiding affection from the depository library community. He began his career at GPO in 1973 and served in a variety of staff and management positions including Director of Library Programs. He now is the Director of the National Bibliography Program Planning Coordination Office.

Gil’s leadership has strongly influenced the FDLP and open access to government information. One nomination letter stated, “I’ll start with the bottom line—in my seventeen years as a documents librarian I have not met anyone who has provided better service to the documents community than Gil Baldwin.” Gil is widely known in the community for his quiet leadership, his interest in listening to depository librarians’ concerns, and his sustained commitment to the profession of documents librarianship and public access to government information.

His nominators all noted his qualities as a strong mentor, leader, and manager who knows how to pull people together for effective teamwork. Some of the programs at GPO that began under his leadership include the visiting experts program, preparation of a collection development policy for the electronic collection, and development of an integrated library system to assist with managing the library-like processes at GPO. He was also responsible for the pilot project that made GPO Access free to all citizens, and he oversaw the beginning of the transition from a paper-based program to a mostly electronic program.

In addition to his work at GPO, Gil’s professional contributions include long-term advocacy for the FDLP and depository librarians, contributions to the professional literature, and active participation in professional organizations, although none of this was required by his positions at GPO. He has gained a reputation in the community and at GPO for standing up for what he believes is right even when that stand may be unpopular.

Gil is best known for his quiet manner of working, never demanding center stage or attention for himself. In fact, he would probably be embarrassed to know how much he is admired by his colleagues. In honor of his years of leadership and his abiding dedication to the Federal Depository Library Program and no-fee, permanent public access to government information, GODORT has named Gil Baldwin the recipient of the 2005 James Bennett Childs Award.