This is an archival post originally published on April 20, 2015.
Among the Library’s student employees, James Butler, Juliana Powell, Justin Stidham, and Terry Wong stand out. They catalog complicated materials, care for rare treasures, volunteer for new projects, and provide exemplary customer service. They have impressed their supervisors and colleagues with their diligence, reliability, and positive attitudes. And they do it all while maintaining busy academic schedules.
Last week, the Library and the Student Library Advisory Board (SLAB) honored them with the Student Employee Appreciation Award for 2014/15.
SLAB created the award as a way to recognize exemplary undergraduate employees on the basis of excellent customer service, leadership in the workplace, integrity, attitude, work ethic, initiative, or passion. Nominees must be currently enrolled undergraduates and have been employed for four or more semesters by the University Library or Health Sciences Library.
Each winner receives $500, which SLAB members have allocated from the endowment they manage.
Meet this year’s winners:
James Butler, ’15, has worked since 2011 in the Media Resources Center (MRC) in the R.B. House Undergraduate Library.
Working his way up from desk assistant to special projects assistant, James has taken the initiative to learn how to troubleshoot and repair equipment. He has helped manage the MRC’s inventory of some 30,000 recordings in all formats, and he has contributed to improvements to the website and maintenance of critical databases.
“James can be counted on to lead by example, take initiative, and provide consistently excellent customer service to our patrons,” wrote his supervisor, Winifred Metz. “He truly cares about people getting the most out of the MRC.”
Juliana Powell, ’16, has made herself indispensable at the Wilson Special Collections Library since she began working there in 2012.
As a research and reference services associate, Juliana has mastered the complicated systems that help the Library keep track of its most valuable treasures. Her knowledge of multiple arcane call number systems has helped her page, handle, and keep track of materials with ease. She is generous with her time and knowledge and has been an obvious choice for special projects.
“Juliana’s care for any assignment‚ “mundane or complicated is what sets her apart as an employee in our library,” wrote her supervisor, Susan Bales. Juliana “is passionate in her work and richly deserves recognition for her talents and integrity, and her willingness to apply them to the work of the Library.”
Justin Stidham, ’15, provides knowledgeable, patient, and friendly service to students, staff, and faculty at the SILS: Information and Library Science Library.
In his nearly three years at the Library, he has embraced the diversity of the ILS collection, which ranges from children’s literature to computer science. He provides reliable and responsible Sunday coverage and has voluntarily arranged his schedule to help with a major project of shifting books to new locations in the stacks.
Rebecca Vargha, head of the SILS Library, wrote that Justin’s goal “is to always help patrons in the most effective way and to provide great customer service. We wish we had five more student assistants just like him!”
Terry Wong, ’16, has assisted since 2012 with the cataloging of East Asian materials as part of the Resource Description and Management department.
His careful work with records ensures that researchers who need Chinese-language materials will be able to find them in the Library’s catalog. He has processed thousands of books for moves to new locations and he edits records that have been produced by professional catalogers.
Terry’s supervisor, Christine Du, wrote that Terry works hard, has a positive attitude, shows unusual initiative, and displays “kindness and thoughtful concern” for his colleagues.
