Department of State Honors Law Library for Legal Research Expertise

The following article originally appeared in the May 3,  2013, edition of Library of Congress staff newsletter, The Gazette.

The U.S. Department of State this week honored the Law Library of Congress for legal research work it provides in support of global criminal-justice programs.

The State Department presented the “Outstanding Partnership in Criminal Justice Assistance” award to Law Librarian David Mao at a ceremony at the department’s Foggy Bottom headquarters on May 13.

The award is in recognition of the Law Library’s “significant research work on complex legal issues” that aid global criminal-justice programs managed by the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

“The research highlighted by this award illustrates the important, practical value of the Law Library’s work in providing a full-service suite of legal-information research and analysis,” Mao said.

The Law Library was one of two federal recipients, along with the Department of Justice. Other awardees included state and local law enforcement agencies such as the New York Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Atlanta Police Department and the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Ambassador William R. Brownfield, Assistant Secretary of State for INL, congratulated Mao and recognized the Law Library’s contributions to U.S. foreign-assistance programs.

Since 2011, legal specialists at the Law Library produced approximately 25 reports that helped INL staff prepare for assessments, develop programs and inform host-country counterparts of different approaches to legislating issues. Reports have covered a range of issues, such as wildlife trafficking laws throughout central and south Africa to alternatives to pretrial detention throughout Central America.

In receiving the award, Mao paid tribute to the Library staffers who support INL, as well as Congress and the public. He cited the dedication of Law Library staff, especially the foreign-law specialists and legal-research analysts, as the catalyst for the real-world delivery of authoritative, timely and comprehensive foreign law research that “promotes greater knowledge and understanding of international issues.”