May 20, 2011

On Thursday, May 12, 2011 the Drexel University Libraries hosted the second annual Library Celebration Awards, celebrating six recipients of the 2011 awards. The Library Celebration Awards were established in 2010 to recognize individuals or teams who have advanced the values of the Libraries through exceptional accomplishments. In addition to Library staff, a student worker is also recognized for his/her dedication to the Libraries. Over 30 people attended the May 12th ceremony, held in W. W. Hagerty's Bookmark Cafe, which recognized library staff Gina Cacace, Sarah Daub, Meg Finney, Ellie Goldberg and Emily Misser. Andrew Mineo received the Jane Bryan Student Worker Award, named after former Libraries administrator Jane Bryan who was a great supporter of student workers. Over 25 people were nominated for the 2011 Awards and six were chosen for their exceptional service: Recipient Gina Cacace, Library Reserve Coordinator at W. W. Hagerty Library was nominated for enhanced services or outreach activities. Gina demonstrates an exceptional level of service in her position as Library Reserve Coordinator. Her coordination of the library reserves positively impacts all users of the Libraries, from students utilizing reserves to faculty and staff requests for reserve materials.  Shortly after her assuming her position, she enhanced the communication to and between the faculty and the subject librarians.  She established a procedure to keep the faculty and the subject librarians informed on the status of requests, which has streamlined the process resulting in a more reliable and responsive library service for us all.  She also established the reserve email account to better and more efficiently handle reserve requests and questions. Sarah Daub, Circulation/Reserves Clerk at Hahnemann Library, received a nomination for enhanced services or outreach activities. Sarah embraces opportunities to make the Health Sciences Libraries a better place for our students, staff, and faculty.  She initiated and executed a project creating exhibits for the hallway area at the entrance to the Hahnemann Library.  She proposed a detailed plan with items from the College of Medicine's Legacy Center (a nice collaboration) and she carried this out with artful presentation.  She followed this with a thoughtful and sensitive exhibit with materials gleaned from the Hahnemann collection portraying the personal experiences of health sciences professionals with illness or their medical careers.  She researched and composed the descriptive narratives that accompanied the display.  Currently researching a new exhibit, she has taken on the responsibility of presenting a welcoming, professional, educational, and creative entrance to the Hahnemann Library. Recipient Meg Finney, a Systems Technician at both Hahnemann and W. W. Hagerty Libraries, was nominated for promoting exceptional collaboration and cooperation among library staff. Meg consistently promotes attentive, responsive and approachable service to all locations of Drexel University Libraries. She was an instrumental figure for the Libraries in dealings with IRT concerning Wi-Fi reception issues and has drafted a form to help library patrons describe IT issues. Meg's efforts contribute to increased responsiveness to user needs across all Libraries. Ellie Goldberg, Library Assistant in Information Services at W. W. Hagerty Library received nominations for efficient or innovative infrastructure or operations because of her role as the moving force in implementing and organizing the Personal Librarian program that launched last fall.  In addition to writing the communications that were sent to each freshman, she spent time and effort in making the process as easy as possible for all of the Personal Librarians that participated in the project. This Personal Librarian Program, which gained national coverage, was a significant highlight of the last year, and it was clearly made possible by Ellie's efforts.  Her resourcefulness, willingness to organize and simplify the process for the rest of us was the key to its success. Emily Misser, the Librarian for Business, Economics and Hospitality Management was nominated for efficient and innovative enhancements to infrastructure or operations. Emily is innovative and creative in her approach to information literacy. She worked to organize the scheduling of presenters, for a library program developed to strengthen research skills of clinical faculty members in the LeBow College of Business, and also served as a presenter herself. She enfolds techniques familiar to the business community in her instructional style, offering a balanced approach. This innovative approach to instruction, known to the wider library community, has resulted in an invitation to be a keynote speaker at the California Conference on Library Instruction being held this month. The Jane Bryan Student Worker Awards was given to Andrew Mineo, a work-study student at W. W. Hagerty Library. Andrew has worked at the library since his freshman year in Fall 2009.  He worked additional hours during finals' periods to cover the shifts other students who called out.  When Information Services department was in need of assistance, we heartily recommended Andrew and now he splits his duties between Access Services and Information Services exhibiting skills across a variety of projects and public service commendable in this young adult. ### To see images from the 2011 ceremony, please visit our Flickr Page. For more information about the Library Celebration Awards or the recipients, please contact Jenny James Lee at jaj92@drexel.edu