The Chattanooga Public Library’s Passport Acceptance Program Manager Diane Moore has been chosen by the United States Department of State as the 2016 Passport Acceptance Agent of the Year.
“The Department of State sincerely appreciates your commitment to providing quality passport acceptance services to our mutual customers. Your dedication to effectively and efficiently managing the Passport Acceptance Program at the Chattanooga Public Library ensures a positive customer experience while maintaining the integrity of the passport application process,” said Brenda S.
Sprague with the US DOS in the award letter received by the library this week.
The program, offered exclusively at the library’s downtown branch where Ms. Moore has been an employee for 21 years, is offered Monday through Saturday by appointment. “I am thrilled to see Diane honored for her leadership with this successful program. Diane and her team deliver exceptional service to the people of Chattanooga and it is wonderful to see her work recognized on a national level,” said Corinne Hill, executive director for the library.
Ms. Moore has been managing the program since 2014 and has overseen an increase of nearly double the amount of passports processed through the downtown library. She also supervises the continual training of 14 library staff members who are certified passport acceptance agents, and hosts the branch’s annual Passport Awareness Month each September. Ms. Sprague stated Ms. Moore has taken the initiative to promote passport acceptance services throughout the community and has built solid relationships with the Congressional District Offices and local business leaders.
The library’s passport acceptance program processes an average of 300 passports each month in the busiest stretch between January and May. The program is also a successful revenue stream for the general operating fund of the library, now bringing in nearly $75,000 annually (FY 2015-’16), officials said.
Ms. Moore says protecting personally identifying information is critical to the success of the U.S. Passport program, and librarians and library staff have extensive training in this area. “The State Department cares tremendously about the accuracy of the applications they receive from a Passport Acceptance Agency, and we have a reputation for attention to detail,” she said.
Libraries are a natural location for offering this service, according to Ms. Moore, since the trusted public space is conducive to accommodating busy and large families as well as individual schedules, offering extended hours, and a children’s department for restless young ones during the application process. “We keep crayons and paper nearby too,” Ms. Moore said.
There are now over 200 libraries in the United States offering the service, according to Public Libraries Online, (May 2016). Full details on the Chattanooga Public Library’s Passport Acceptance Program are listed on the library’s website.