National Library Workers Day 2017

University Libraries celebrated National Library Workers Day 2017 on Tuesday, April 11, with an ice cream social and awards! Congratulations and thank you to our winners: Marei Houpert, Dylan Hurd, Manuela Prudencio, Heath Robinson and Geoffery Stark.

The purpose of the Outstanding Support Service Award is to recognize officially graduate assistants, hourly, and work-study students who demonstrate exceptional and/or outstanding performance, service, or contributions. Graduate assistant Marei Houpert received an Outstanding Support Service Award for her reliability, consistency and being the “soul of courtesy” at the Libraries’ research desk. Houpert went above and beyond, volunteering for additional shifts and tasks. When a large donation of audio visual materials needed to be moved from the Global Campus to Mullins Library, Houpert not only volunteered frequently to help with the packing, labeling and moving – she also trained and led the work of several of her colleagues over the course of the move.

“Marei handles complex questions with ease but is always willing to refer questions as needed,” said user experience librarian Kathleen Lehman. “She exemplifies the kind of person that the Outstanding Support Service Award is meant to recognize.”

The purpose of the Rookie of the Year Award is to recognize and distinguish a new employee who has shown outstanding performance in their current position. Web developer Dylan Hurd received a Rookie of the Year Award. Hurd redesigned the main Libraries’ website, the library catalog, Index Arkansas, LibGuides, ILLiad and Digital Collections, as well as the websites for the Physics Library, Fine Arts Library and Chemistry and Biochemistry Library. Over two dozen libraries have commented on or requested his catalog design files. Hurd worked with the Public Relations and Special Collections departments to introduce a WordPress blog, 365 McIlroy, and to develop best practices for integrating news and events information into the main website.

“That he has done all these things, and done them well, is commendable,” said web services librarian Beth Juhl. “That he has done all these things, and been a great and congenial colleague, is just outrageously good.”

Preservation department hourly worker Manuela Prudencio also received an Outstanding Support Service Award for her reliability, conscientiousness and attention to detail. Prudencio enters and proofreads titles and call numbers for the bindery to print on book spines, and she catches errors before items are sent to binding. She took the initiative to express an interest in the in-house binding machine, which is beyond her normal responsibilities, and is now assisting with processing a backlog of items.

“Manuela starts the day with a smile, asks questions when she’s learning, and even though she’s not a work-study or graduate assistant, she has the Libraries’ best interests in mind,” said Mary Leverence.

Project archivist Heath Robinson also received a Rookie of the Year Award. Robinson began full-time employment in April 2016 as a James D. Bales Papers Project Archivist. This project involved the processing of approximately 435 large boxes containing approximately 30,000 folders. His initial assignment was to organize five of thirteen series in the collection. By the end of June, he had completed this task, organizing the contents of 194 boxes and inventorying the contents of 182 boxes. He then organized an additional series consisting of 22 boxes. By the conclusion of the project, he arranged the materials in nine of the collection’s series and inventoried the contents of 11 of these series. Furthermore, he assumed the daily supervision of six student workers who assisted in writing file titles on and numbering the collection’s 30,000 individual folders.

“[Robinson] makes contributions beyond work on the physical aspects of the collection, offering suggestions with regards to solving problems as well has helping to map out strategies on how to proceed with the project,” said Todd Lewis, lead processing archivist for Special Collections. “He is wonderful to work with, being fully cooperative and a genuinely nice person.”

The Extra Mile Award recognizes employees who have gone above and beyond their regular assignment within the Libraries in very specific and recognizable ways. While many employees go the extra mile frequently, this award acknowledges the service and dedication of those who take on one or more special initiatives to help others in the Libraries at large through service they were not called upon to do. Special Collections Reading Room supervisor Geoffery Stark received the Extra Mile Award for his exceptional service to the general public during the 2016 presidential election. Throughout the year, the Special Collections department was contacted regularly and persistently by the news media and the general public for any and all information about Secretary Hillary Clinton. As supervisor of the Research Services Desk in Special Collections, Stark was the first point of contact for research inquiries and was involved on a regular basis in fielding questions, participating in determining appropriate access to materials, explaining copyright and other restrictions, and supplying approved documents for research questions pertaining to Secretary Clinton, her family, her friends, her colleagues and any connections to the university, the community and the state. In addition to handling this unique set of queries, Stark continued to perform his other research assistance duties, offering guidance on the use of other notable collections and overseeing Research Services staff.

“Throughout a stressful year that was at times thrilling and professionally very satisfying, Geoffery handled clients with utmost professionalism, respect, good humor and warm Arkansas hospitality,” said Special Collections librarian Janet Parsch.