Helping Hand Nominees -- Individual Category
Awarded to the person 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.
What was the specific situation that required special/emergency help.
I am currently serving as chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee for 2003-2004. My maternity leave was scheduled to coincide with spring elections - something I failed to notice/act on until spring election season was nearly upon us. I needed a volunteer to oversee the elections.
How did the nominee help you in the situation you described in the previous question's answer?
Tom graciously volunteered to act as chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee and to oversee the spring elections. This he did on very short notice and with a pleasant attitude - giving generously of his time. Tom immediately began organizing and coordinating the elections process. This involves determining which slots are open on which committees, putting out a call for nominees, sending out announcements via email, organizing the committee to send out and count ballots, etc.
Above and beyond what he initially volunteered for, Tom was proactive in addressing a situation involving off-site ballots and the allotted turn-around time for returning the ballots.
What was the outcome of the aforementioned situation?
The spring 2004 elections have gone smoothly. Most importantly, Tom a solution is now in place which allows faculty not on UGA's Main Campus more time to return their ballot and have their vote counted!
What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Tom appreciated my situation, which although not technically an "emergency" was of major importance - and one that couldn't be altered. His willingness to chair the committee in my absence and coordinate the spring elections ensures that the library's committees will be peopled for 2004-2005.
What was the specific situation that required special/emergency help.
The Shelving Unit needed to count shelves in order to layout the second level of the Repository and the second floor annex of the Main Library.
How did the nominee help you in the situation you described in the previous question's answer?
Crystal counted, re-counted, and re-counted shelves and sections on every floor of the Main Library.
What was the outcome of the aforementioned situation?
Because of her contributions, we were able to configure both the Repository and the second floor of Main so that we can shelve books with little hassle.
What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Crystal has always been willing to assist whenever she's been asked.
What was the specific situation that required special/emergency help.
The sudden departure of Joan Conger left the Reference Department unprepared to assume all of her responsibilities last July. Patrick Reidenbaugh offered to step in for awhile until a permanent replacement could be found.
How did the nominee help you in the situation you described in the previous question's answer?
Patrick did not realize that quite a few local database subscriptions were activated on July 1st. Suddenly he was responsible for the GALILEO Local Resource entries for each of these products. While bibliographers and reference librarians helped with the descriptions there were many details that only he could do. Patrick took on these duties at the same time he was fielding all the connectivity concerns that often accompany new products. From morning until late he devoted his summer days to responding to patrons and colleagues about these local resource databases.
What was the outcome of the aforementioned situation?
The transition was smooth. Patrick slaved over the GLRI and the elibrary mail account all summer and by fall when a new arrangement was ready, he was able to hand over the GALILEO local database management with all records complete and all performance issues resolved.
(Optional) What might have happened had the nominee not helped?
Chaos. First the new databases would not have been added to the GALILEO menu. Second, no one would have taken the time to find out what was wrong with problematic databases. Users would not have had responses to their complaints. Reference librarians would not have known about sites that were off-line for the day. Perhaps most importantly, none of us would have enjoyed Patrick's humorous notes and puns as he kept us all informed of changes through Grapevine throughout the summer.
What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Patrick exchanged one frying pan for another. With the purchase of the Francois Villon's collection, Patrick has had another enormous project consume his days. For the past few months he has been searching each piece in the vast collection to determine if we own it. Boxes of pamphlet and journal material still await his appraisal.