Outstanding Department Head Nominees

Please describe what makes this person an outstanding department head (e.g., managerial skills, teaching ability, interpersonal skills, attitude, leadership, etc.).

Claire is a great Department Head for many reasons.  She has excellent interpersonal skills.  Whenever I have needed to talk to her, she has always been approachable and available to discuss any problem I have had.  She has a really positive attitude about her work at the Library.  Claire is involved with a number of projects both at home and abroad, and these projects are very taxing, but I always see her with a smile, and that is very encouraging.  Finally, she is an outstanding leader.  She tries to keep people informed about the changes going on in the Libraries and at the University.  She always tries to shoot straight with people, and she never asks people to do a task that she would not do.

After the fire in July, I found that Claire was really good at keeping Access Services informed about the time-line for cleaning the books, opening the Library, etc.  Even in the midst of this comotion, she was able to devise plans for patrons to return books and to retrieve certain books.

Please describe how the nominee has contributed to the individual goals of the employees in his/her department while focusing on the Libraries' mission.

I think Claire contributes to the individual goals of Access Services by being very supportive of their endeavors.  I know from personal experience that Claire will do whatever she can to help out with a person's plans or goals.  In that sense, she is as good a friend as she is a Department Head.

Please describe what makes this person an outstanding department head (e.g., managerial skills, teaching ability, interpersonal skills, attitude, leadership, etc.).

While Toby has only been at the Digital Library of Georgia since June of last year, the department and project has taken off since his arrival. Toby has implemented much needed strategic planning and has developed a vision for the DLG for the next several years. A dynamic speaker and born collaborator, Toby has reached out to other institutions and encouraged them to support the DLG's efforts. Within the department, Toby has built a sense of unity in a department split over several floors and with units of vastly different roles. During meetings, he encourages staff members to share both their opinions but also their accomplishments and has created a stronger spirit of collaboration.

Since arriving in Georgia, Toby already strengthened the partnerships between the DLG, GALILEO, Georgia Public Library Services, and other library institutions in the state. Throughout the planning process, he tries to involve the DLG's stakeholders. For example, in planning the DLG's site redesign, he invited representatives of the special collections, educational, and public library communities to hear their perspectives on what they wanted out of the DLG.

On a local note, Toby has tirelessly championed the needs of the Georgia Newspaper Project during a tough budgetary period and is actively seeking new revenue streams to support both its work and that of the DLG.

Please describe how the nominee has contributed to the individual goals of the employees in his/her department while focusing on the Libraries' mission.

As a department head/supervisor, Toby goes to bat for his employees. He encourages them to build their potential, be professionally involved, and to explore new avenues of development. He tries to help each employee find fulfillment in their job and finds creative means to support their efforts.

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

By far and away, Toby is the best boss I've ever had, and because of his efforts, I see great things in store for the DLG.

Please describe what makes this person an outstanding department head (e.g., managerial skills, teaching ability, interpersonal skills, attitude, leadership, etc.).

As our new director, Toby approaches the transformation of the Digital Library with contagious energy. He is a positive motivating force each day, always taking time to communicate and learn as much as he can from his staff. He earnestly acknowledges that the work we do is important and keeps his staff up to date on all Digital Library projects and abreast of events in the UGA Library. He encourages us to take advantage of training and development. He guides and supports the decisions of his unit managers and promotes communication between units. He is easy to talk to and makes decisions only after learning as much as he can about a situation and careful consideration of alternatives. Crucially, he keeps an even keel under stress as he juggles multiple units developing multiple large scale projects with deadlines.

Toby has significantly increased our production level through the acquisition of outside funding and by collaboration with other state initiatives like Georgia Homeplace. He has given us the resources and support to complete a number of projects we are extremely excited about and proud of, including the Jenkins Diary, Hawkins Diary, and Vanishing Georgia.

Please describe how the nominee has contributed to the individual goals of the employees in his/her department while focusing on the Libraries' mission.

As mentioned before, Toby supports training and development, and more importantly encourages us to share what we learn with our co-workers. He supports a collaborative, industrious work environment.

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

As many are aware, Toby is a new father and in spite of the nervousness he must naturally feel, he continues to work as hard as usual, not even flagging due to lack of sleep. He is an inspirational leader.

Please describe what makes this person an outstanding department head (e.g., managerial skills, teaching ability, interpersonal skills, attitude, leadership, etc.).

This is Nan's first year as head of the Collection Development department.  Not only has she made a successful transition to the supervisory responsibilities but has done so under extremely adverse conditions.

She has shown excellent judgment in the allocation of responsibility to other department members.  Her clear thinking is especially effective in interpersonal communication.  One can be confident that her qualities of good judgment, fairness, and practicality are always at a consistently high level.

Please describe how the nominee has contributed to the individual goals of the employees in his/her department while focusing on the Libraries' mission.

The fire on the second floor occurred two weeks or so before she took over as Head of Collection Development.  Despite all the demands put on her in her role as Conservation Officer with the aftermath of the fire, she kept the department going with excellent communication skills and good humor. 

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

Nan is energetic.

Please describe what makes this person an outstanding department head (e.g., managerial skills, teaching ability, interpersonal skills, attitude, leadership, etc.).

Nan is an outstanding department head not only because she is a talented, knowledgable librarian with excellent leadership skills, but also because she is an engaging person who has an optimistic attitude and a genuine interest in her employees. Nan assumed the position of department head in Collection Development during a time of many changes. Aside from the fire on the second floor, there were major staff changes happening in the Collection Development office that left us a bit understaffed. Nan handled these difficulties gracefully, and she also took the opportunity to make some changes in staff responsibilities that led to a better division of labor and also more unification between the Preservation Unit and the staff in the Collection Development office. Nan is also approachable and easy to talk to, and whether you have a question or a suggestion for her, she always listens with consideration.

Please describe how the nominee has contributed to the individual goals of the employees in his/her department while focusing on the Libraries' mission.

The late summer and fall of last year was a time of big changes and hectic activity for the Collection Development department, but Nan handled this period of stress with amazing agility. She not only assumed the role of Department Head during this time, undertaking new responsibilities in the sixth floor office; she also worked tirelessly on the fire-damaged second floor, often spending much of her day with sooty books in uncomfortable conditions.

Nan always has a helpful and encouraging attitude toward employees in her department. Many classified staff in Collection Development are also attending or soon will begin attending classes in undergratuate and graduate programs, and Nan can be counted on to work closely with staff to enable them to pursue their goals while also being productive at work.

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

Nan is not only an outstanding Department Head, but also a History professor who teaches classes regularly, and she is always ready to help students who come to her with questions.

Please describe what makes this person an outstanding department head (e.g., managerial skills, teaching ability, interpersonal skills, attitude, leadership, etc.).

More than anything else, Nan has perhaps the best attitude of any supervisor I have ever encountered.  She gives tasks (and problems) the perfect amount of attention, dwelling neither too long on anything, nor short-changing even unpleasant duties.  She effectively manages what is perhaps the most eclectic department in the library (spanning several different floors and operations).  No one feels that she ignores them, nor that she is unconcerned with their work.  As for the teaching ability... well, see the last question.

Nan actually became the department head during a time when there was no physical office for the department.  She, more or less began her duties as department head when Collection Development was located in the student computer lounge on the first floor during the beginning stages of the fire recovery.  She assumed her duties while still spending most of her time on the second floor directing the recovery efforts, staying at the library from 7 in the morning until 6 or 7 in the evening.  Once we actually returned to our offices, she dealt with the departure of the long-time office manager and the replacement of almost the entire staff of the Collection Development office.  All the while she was still overseeing the fire recovery efforts, doing her best to make sure that the collection sustained no additional damage (a project that continues still this summer).

Please describe how the nominee has contributed to the individual goals of the employees in his/her department while focusing on the Libraries' mission.

Nan kept Collection Development a functioning office at a time when it would have been very easy to let things go to peices.  Every day she attends to the well-being of our current collection as well as overseeing the ordering of the new additions to that collection.  On top of that, she is always encouraging her staff to work with other departments in order to ensure that work gets done in as effecient and friednly a manner as is possible.

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

On top of being the new Collection Development head (after serving as Co-Department Head of the Digital Library) and the lone Preservation Librarian, Nan is also a part time History Professor, actually teaching a class on the History of Medicine every fall.  The fact that she actually does so much for the Library and still finds time to teach at the University is astonishing.  In addition, her willingness to help out has led some of us around the office to suggest making t-shirts that provide an answer for those seeking assistance.  The t-shirts would ask the question "Why not Nan?"