This is an archival post originally published on May 5, 2016.
During a Library staff meeting in April, the University Library and the Student Library Advisory Board (SLAB) honored four undergraduate student library employees with the Student Employee Appreciation Award for 2015/16.
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.
The Library is grateful to this year’s winners:
Chris Fink ’16 has stood out for his dedication, reliability, and positive attitude during his four years working in the Circulation Department at Davis Library.
The Circulation staff has always been able to count on Chris for any shift he signed up for–he never canceled at the last minute leaving them short-handed. This was true even for the late-night shift of 9 p.m. – midnight and the exam shift that runs until 2 a.m., both of which Chris consistently covered for the past two years.
Despite his difficult course load and numerous extracurricular activities, Chris never bemoaned being at work and always was attentive to the demands of the job, completing a wide variety of tasks without error and on time.
Courteousness has characterized Chris’s interactions with library patrons and coworkers, and he has gone out of his way to make the newer student assistants feel at home.
Michael Hanson, his supervisor, wrote that Chris is “a kind, intelligent, conscientious person, who sets a great example for all of us, staff and students alike.”
Thomas Lasater ’16 joined the Wilson Library Technical Services staff four years ago keen to learn and to engage with the materials and with coworkers.
Tommy has made himself a highly valued member of the team, taking on increasingly complex tasks and eagerly learning new skills. Last semester, he assumed responsibility for a newspaper project that expanded his working relationships beyond his own department to departments throughout the Wilson Special Collections Library. His ability to notice things that need doing and take initiative has eased the burden for full-time staff, especially during times of personnel change.
Tommy has demonstrated his interest in Wilson Library’s special collections by volunteering to assist with the Rare Book Collection’s new acquisitions night and with the Wilson Library CLUE game.
“We are proud of him and grateful to him for his contributions at every level,” wrote his supervisor, Eileen Dewitya. “We know that he will go far with his intelligence, curiosity, kindness, thoughtfulness, and love of life.”
Courtney Richards ’18 has worked for four semesters as acquisitions assistant in the Music Library.
Courtney’s award notes her remarkable industry and care in processing and marking hundreds of Music Library a/v materials each semester–keeping track of various call number systems and barcoding with sound aesthetic judgment.
Her supervisor, Carrie Monette, reports that Courtney’s work is performed “with breathtaking accuracy, precision, dedication, and focus. In the multitudinous categories of materials, there has never been a call number assigned inaccurately . . . Courtney is an outstanding steward of Music Library materials.”
Courtney has excelled in public services work, as well, showing exemplary attentiveness to all patrons, including newcomers and those with special needs. “Friendliness, thoroughness, and compassion” mark her shifts at the service desk.
Monette wrote, “She’s not just outstanding, she’s incredible!”
Grace Ware ’16 is recognized for her excellent customer service, leadership, attitude, work ethic, and initiative at the Media Resources Center (MRC) in the R. B. House Undergraduate Library, since September 2012.
By patiently “showing” rather than just “telling” patrons how to use library resources or fix problems, she has empowered them. Approachable yet professional, she has made patrons feel at ease while also being respectfully firm when it came to enforcing MRC policies.
Grace has been unafraid to step in to help her coworkers, and, with her expansive understanding of the MRC, she has helped its staff to train new student assistants by allowing them to shadow her during their first shifts.
Her diligence, knowledge, and attention to detail have enabled her to excel in intensive projects like inventory and statistics.
One MRC supervisor wrote, “Each morning I work with her, Grace brings all the professionalism and compassion one can expect from full-time employees.”
