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The 2004 Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award is presented to Melody S. Kelly, Associate Dean of Libraries at the University of North Texas (UNT). This award is presented to Melody for her almost 30 years of leadership that strongly affected the depository library community in Texas. She spent many years as a documents librarian before finally agreeing to leave the documents department for her promotion to Associate Dean of Libraries in 2001. During her years as documents librarian and department head for the Government Documents Department, she insisted that service for patrons be the primary focus of the department, resulting in a glowing reputation on campus as the place to go for help with really difficult research. However, Melody's personal contributions to the field of government information extended beyond the walls of her own library.

Since 1987, Melody has taught the government information course for the School of Library and Information Sciences (SLIS) at the University of North Texas. Her lively personality and insightful wit make her classes as entertaining as they are educational. As one former student stated, "I walked into class to begin my study of what had to be the most boring possible area of librarianship, Government Documents. By the end of that first 3-hour class, my opinion had changed radically. If Ms. Kelly was an evangelist for Government Documents Librarianship, she had gained another convert to the fold." She clearly imparts to her students her own passion for free, open access to government information. A number of currently practicing documents librarians received a thorough and practical grounding, and a passion for the topic, through one of Melody's courses. In 2002, to recognize her contributions to the profession, she was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award by the UNT SLIS.

Melody's membership in the Texas Library Association (TLA) extends back to the early 1970s. She was a founding member of the TLA GODORT and a tireless supporter of no-fee access to government information. She is regarded as a mentor and role model by many of the GODORT members, and her depth of understanding regarding public policy issues affecting the Depository Library Program has made her an indispensable asset to the round table and to TLA. Many TLA resolutions related to government information policy were written by Melody through the past 30 years. She served in many of the TLA GODORT offices and on most of the committees and represented GODORT on the TLA Council. To honor her contributions, she was the first recipient of the TLAGODORT/ Marcive/ Knowledge is Power Award. She now serves on the TLA Executive Board.

Melody is also recognized for her effort to focus attention on the value of government information to the K-12 classroom. She is a frequent speaker on the topic to school librarians and educators, and she published two books on the subject: Using Government Documents: A How-To-Do-It Manual for School and Public Librarians, and Uncle Sam's Net of Knowledge for Schools (Neal-Schuman, publisher). She also authored numerous articles for education-related journals and magazines on the topic. Additionally, her extensive Web-based guide to K-12 materials forms a significant and ongoing resource for librarians and educators.

As one supporter of her nomination stated, "She is unofficially known as the 'dean' of government information librarians in the state of Texas." All who know her well are confident that whatever administrative position she takes in libraries, Melody will remain a documents librarian at heart.