Helping Hand Nominations -- Group Cateogory

Awarded to a unit or small group who has gone out of their way to help a fellow UGA Libraries employee in a unique situation of unusual stress. This concerns how the nominee went outside of normal work expectations in a specific instance for the benefit of the UGA Libraries mission as a whole and the benefit of a specific employee in the particular situation.

Dirty Hands Gang (1 of 2)

Sherry Allen, Noel Beverley, Deb Billings, Sonya Brooks, Steven Brown, John Campbell, Daniel Collins (student), Lucille Davis, Sheila Devaney, Julie Dyles, Susan Field, Diana Hartle, Gilbert Head, Marilyn Healey, Cheryl Hinson, Kelly Holt, Neil Hughes, Will Langford, Nan McMurry, Kristin Nielsen, Holly Perkins, Ryan Perry, John Prechtel, Jasmine Rizer, Lucy Rowland, Diane Trap, Susan Tuggle, Paul Van Wicklen, and Carol Wheeler

What was the specific situation that required special/emergency help.

How did the nominee help you in the situation you described in the previous question's answer?

The members of the gang examined the burnt materials to determine what could be salvaged. This meant pawing through the damaged government documents collection to look at each piece. Examination required determining if the item was o.k. as it was, required rebinding, or was too damaged to keep. Those items that were designated to go to the bindery had to be tagged and recorded.

After the gang examined the burned materials, some were removed to a storage facility, some were wrapped in plastic until they could be sent to the bindery and other items were discarded.

The materials would not have been removed from the building promptly forcing the whole library staff to continue to smell smoke and soot.

Nan McMurry's Dirty Hands Club (2 of 2)
Sherry Allen, Noel Beverley, Deb Billings, Sonya Brooks, Steven Brown, John Campbell, Daniel Collins (student), Lucille Davis, Sheila Devaney, Julie Dyles, Susan Field, Diana Hartle, Gilbert Head, Marilyn Healey, Cheryl Hinson, Kelly Holt, Neil Hughes, Will Langford, Nan McMurry, Kristin Nielsen, Holly Perkins, Ryan Perry, John Prechtel, Jasmine Rizer, Lucy Rowland, Diane Trap, Susan Tuggle, Paul Van Wicklen, and Carol Wheeler.

Please Note: This nomination was originally submitted for Best Group/Committee Collaboration, but reclassified by the ASSET Awards Committee

This group of volunteers was charged to evaluate each print item in the damaged sections of the second floor following the fire, dividing items into three groups - items that could not be saved, items needing rebinding/restoration and items needing only cleaning. They documented what was destroyed and readied what could be saved for restoration/rebinding.

What goals has this group accomplished, and how have the accomplished goals benefited the UGA Libraries?

This group of volunteers worked swiftly to evaluate each book, pamphlet and charred binder in the section of the second floor damaged by fire. Working in teams, they determined what could and could not be saved and used their best problem solving skills to estimate damaged or missing call numbers. In two weeks time they processed thousands of charred or soot-begrimed volumes working under floodlights in the burnt-over stacks, keeping the recovery project on schedule. At a time when library spirits were low, the smell of their clothing as they went off shift made staff think of carefree summer barbecuing.

As a result, restoration of the floor could proceed on schedule, thousands of valuable U.S. documents were recovered for researchers and insurance claims could be made for materials that were destroyed.

Since none did this sort of work as a hobby, effective leadership from the Preservation Group was the first factor in their success. This dovetailed neatly with the high degree of flexibility displayed by the group, the ability to change tasks and invent new solutions as situations unfolded and work routines were developed. Related to this was the ability to quickly form effective teams with different colleagues at each "mining session".

In a setting that could rapidly become depressing, the sense of humor that is common in the Libraries rapidly became an asset, as did the group's dedication to the written word that fired their desire to move the recovery forward. In sorting the mess and deciphering fire-damaged call numbers, a general knowledge of library practice rapidly became apparent as an asset.

They were all proud of their accomplishment, but NEVER, NEVER want to do this again.

The network in the building annex was destroyed by the fire. It had to be rebuilt.

How did the nominee help you in the situation you described in the previous question's answer?

I asked them to help me rewire the annex, the showed up. When Jason heard I was asking for help, he got in touch with me and volunteered.

In early April my daughter's baby came 2 weeks early and she had a difficult delivery. I needed to be there and help her. The next day, however, Chip, the Document Delivery Assistant, was out sick and the following morning had to have emergency abdominal surgery. Knowing the situation in Document Delivery, which involves all ILLs being lent from Science and also Branch Deliveries, and that Chip and I are the only ones that know the essentials of the Unit, several people volunteered to learn what to do to keep things working.

How did the nominee help you in the situation you described in the previous question's answer?

The morning I needed to leave for Roanoke, Jacquie, Barb, and John Hammes, learned how to do the "responses" to ILL that are a crucial part of making the system work every day. And this also involved checking on the many problem citations every day. John was here every day making sure the scanning was kept up with. Karen agreed to keep up with checking for Branch requests that come by mail and email and sorting these out for the students to take care of. The student payroll was going to be due the week I was gone so Christian volunteered to take care of that.

The four, very loyal, docdel students were available to carry out the bulk of the work and were complimented for their loyalty and hard work.

Once we were sure of the successful outcome of Chip's surgery, I was able to take off Thurs. afternoon with Bill, Carley, and Will, who were all off from school that week due to their schedules and Spring Break. We got up to Roanoke the day Chloe came home from the hospital with her baby, our first grandchild and first in both families! As it turned out, that Sat. night until 2:30 a.m. Easter morning, we were with Chloe, Ross, and baby Liam in the Roanoke Hospital E.R. for a problem stemming from the delivery. All turned out well, but they said, "What would we have done if you hadn't been here?" Bill, Carley, and Will had to leave to get back Sunday. But, after checking in with Jacquie and Karen the first couple of days and seeing that everything was going ok with them, I was able to spend the week helping the new Mom and Dad with their new responsibility. And what a bonding experience for the new Gramma (Nana, Nina,...not sure yet!) The Branch researchers got their books and articles, ILL folk got their material, the students would get a check the next pay period.

Not only this, though. Due to Chip's emergency surgery and need to be out for at least an additional 2 or 3 weeks, his leave wasn't going to be adequate. Jacquie, Karen, and several others looked into the new borrowed leave policy. Due to the concern of many wonderful people in the Libraries, over 250 hours of borrowed leave were donated to Chip. I can't tell you how reassuring that was to Chip and also to me to know that he could recuperate without the worry of the loss of income.

These colleagues,(friends) at the Science Library made something possible that looked at first to be impossible. They and others in the Libraries made it possible for me to be able to help my daughter, for Chip to recuperate properly, and for the work of the Unit to carry on.

I just would have felt like I couldn't leave right then if they hadn't volunteered to learn what to do and help out. Or I could've left and left a mess for ILL and a mess to return to. Chip might have felt as though he had to come back to work before he was ready, compromising his health. A disaster could very well have ensued!

What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?

There is a wonderful spirit of cooperation at Science that should be applauded. How much I appreciate their effort to help out. Many others in the Libraries, including Meredith from Access Services, deserve a big thank you too!!! I may have neglected to name someone, but I am very grateful to all who helped out and you know who you are!

Sometimes classes descend on the Libraries like cicadas, a hundred or more students sent by their professors to research a topic for which the supporting data is obscure, difficult to use, fragile, or non-existent; to look at one particular issue of a current periodical that is not available online; or to find a dozen journal articles from a bibliography with at least one mistake in each entry.

How did the nominee help you in the situation you described in the previous question's answer?

Paul Van Wicklen makes sure the staff of the Periodicals desk are aware of upcoming assignments and know where to find and how to use the materials the students will need. Vicki Timian works quickly and efficiently to make books and articles available at the Reserve desk or on electronic reserves; these books and articles are usually needed immediately and with little advance notice.

Because of Paul and Vicki's flexibility, efficiency, and good will, hordes of students are able to find and use materials assigned to them by their professors that would be impossible for them to find, lost, or otherwise inaccessible.