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Her colleagues in the library and on the faculty at Denison, in GODORT of Ohio, and nationally know Mary Prophet as a careful researcher and bibliographer, and a sensitive teacher and reference librarian. She has promoted, in her unfailingly patient and practical way, the use and understanding of government information to students, faculty, and fellow librarians. Her work has never been confined to her own library. Her role as a leader of the Government Documents Round Table of Ohio, in the Five Colleges consortium, and as member and secretary of the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer, as well as her many research interests all reflect a view of government documents librarianship that its broad and inclusive. That view has been communicated to the users Mary has served throughout her career.

Mary's unshakeable belief in the power and reach of government docments, and her tireless work in as educator, mentor, scholar, and advocate are the embodiment of the best spirit of Documents Librarianship, of the power of getting documents and people together, which this award celebrates. Some years ago, Mary encountered a South African student in the stacks at Denison, in tears as he read Congressional hearings on South Africa and apartheid. This student was amazed to be told by Mary that he could not only read the documents he reverently held in the library, but could check them out. So much information from the Government, freely available to anyone who wished to use it, was nearly beyond his comprehension. Mary's work, writing, and advocacy for the Depository Library Program help to ensure that such moments continue to inspire and motivate us to bring documents and people together.