Extra Mile/Above and Beyond
This award will be presented to a person who frequently and consistently has worked outside normal expectations to make a difference, or who has worked under adverse conditions but was still able to provide quality service or outstanding production levels.
Katie Gentilello
DLG/ Photo Services
What is the nominee's position and what is the nature of his/her job? What are the normal expectations?
Photo Supervisor/ DLG project leaderPlease describe how has the nominee frequently and consistently surpasses normal expectations.
She has worked directly with many people throughout UGA Libraries. Her expertise, sophisticated graphic sensibility and congeniality are all part of the great package that is Katie.How has the nominee's hard word affected your unit and/or department? How has his/her hard work affect the Libraries?
Her energy, positive attitude and generosity are all cherished by her co-workers. Although she is very busy, she will always make time to listen, offer advice, and support.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Katie's contributions to our workday at the UGA Libraries are priceless.Anne Marie Hamilton-Brehm
DLG/ Metadata
What is the nominee's position and what is the nature of his/her job? What are the normal expectations?
DLG/ Metadata/ Digital Conversion ManagerPlease describe how has the nominee frequently and consistently surpasses normal expectations.
Anne Marie manages the student employees of the Metadata Unit of the DLG, and is also responsible for the payroll of two other units. Although it is expected that she be organized and efficient, she is also kind, patient and sensitive to the environment that her students and colleagues share. Because of this, she works hard to balance productivity, communication and levity in a very quiet, detail-oriented environment, not an easy task.How has the nominee's hard word affected your unit and/or department? How has his/her hard work affect the Libraries?
Working with Anne Marie very closely, I have witnessed her dedication and professionalism on a daily basis. It is also refreshing to work with her because she brings a good sense of humor along with her serious attitude towards work. She cares a great deal about her student workers, and works hard at making our unit a pleasant place for them.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
One of our former student workers was hit by a car, and immobilized (stitches, casts, crutches, pins, &c.). When Anne Marie discovered this, she organized a collection from the entire department, with which she purchased and delivered groceries and treats to help her convalescence go by more enjoyably.Mandy Mastrovita
Digital Library of Georgia
What is the nominee's position and what is the nature of his/her job? What are the normal expectations?
Mandy is the Metadata and Site Development Specialist for the Digital Library of Georgia. She is responsible to the Assistant Director for the development and integration of metadata for Digital Library projects, serving as our chief copy editor. A graphic design professional with an MFA in Printmaking, Mandy participates in the development of project Web sites through duties related to content development and graphic design.Please describe how has the nominee frequently and consistently surpasses normal expectations.
Mandy juggles many projects, committees, and deadlines. She serves on the Civil Rights Portal Committee and the Graphics subcommittee. She is our in-house consultant for graphic design and print production. Some of her work is ongoing, such as integrating information from Georgia Government Publications to the META database, adding information from GIL and OCLC. She also assists in name authority analysis for the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps project. Much of her design work is done under pressing deadlines, involving communication among many committee members. She has designed three posters while working for DLG, one for DLG while serving on the DLG Public Relations committee, and two publicizing Georgia Archives Week. Mandy designs teasers and logo montages for our Web site. She is extremely well-organized and prioritizes her work in order to meet deadlines. Crucially, she communicates well with her supervisor, the Assistant Director, supporting efficient project planning. As if she didn't already have too much on her plate, Mandy has been accepted to the University of Alabama's competitive online Master of Library and Information Studies program to begin this Fall.How has the nominee's hard word affected your unit and/or department? How has his/her hard work affect the Libraries?
Mandy's designs and copy editing skills contribute substantially to the high quality of our Web site and public relations materials and reflect favorably on the Libraries as well. Her interest in libraries is demonstrated by her decision to attend library school. An extremely detail oriented and hardworking individual, Mandy leads by example. Her can-do attitude and genial demeanor contribute to the high morale of DLG employees and to Library employees that she meets during the course of the day.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Mandy also serves as an assistant manager of the DLG student workforce. While this is one of her regular duties, she has been particularly helpful this year during the several instances in which the primary manager of the student assistants was out sick. In spite of her enormous workload, she is always pleasant to work with and happy to assist.Jenifer Marquardt
Cataloging
What is the nominee's position and what is the nature of his/her job? What are the normal expectations?
Jenifer is a half-time faculty member who is primarily responsible for maintaining the currency and accuracy of controlled access points (headings) in GIL.Please describe how has the nominee frequently and consistently surpasses normal expectations.
Recent challenges in the world of authority control such as LC's decision to add closing death dates to headings in the national authority file for various well-known individuals, or the more recent one to abandon establishing or maintaining headings for series, have been met by Jenifer with poise and equanimity. While such changes in other libraries with collections as large as UGA's have caused dismay bordering on panic, Jenifer has worked (and is continuing to work) with her supervisor and her colleagues in Cataloging to develop systematic, rational approaches to each issue as it has arisen. That she constantly succeeds in these efforts is all the more remarkable for the fact that she works only part-time.How has the nominee's hard word affected your unit and/or department? How has his/her hard work affect the Libraries?
Authority control in a large academic library's files can never be 100% perfect--the dynamic nature of the beasts (i.e., the files!) ensures such a state of imperfection, even with the assistance of automated processing such as that provided by Marcive. When UGA first "went live" with GIL, our headings were in a sorry state, from years of living with a system that made post-cataloging authority control and cleanup extremely difficult. The work Jenifer has done on our files since 1999 has improved the quality and consistency of our headings to such a degree that I now feel confident that I can find almost anything in the catalog where doing so requires employing controlled access points (and that's frequent!). I know from my own experience, using GIL to find non-work-related materials for study and/or entertainment, that the same improvements must be noticeable to other UGA people who have been here for at least a decade-- and of course the improved ease of access is now transparent to our newer users, who are not aware that there ever was a severe problem.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Jenifer is even-tempered, kind, supportive, collegial, hard-working, pragmatic, and a joy to work with. She is a hidden treasure in the basement of the Main Library!Sheila McAlister
DLG
What is the nominee's position and what is the nature of his/her job? What are the normal expectations?
Assistant Director, Digital Library of Georgia Formerly, Project Manager and Digital Metadata CoordinatorPlease describe how has the nominee frequently and consistently surpasses normal expectations.
Because of her ability to manage complex projects and knowledge of digital library practices, Sheila has acquired a substantial increase in responsibility over the past 2.5 years. The metadata unit that she directs has grown from 2 people to 5.5 during that period as a result of re-organization and addition of grant-funded positions. Sheila carries out daily project management for many of the DLG's one-time initiatives, including Georgia HomePLACE. The HomePLACE projects--partnerships with libraries across the state--are heterogeneous in type of material, subject matter, and the processes involved in making the content available via the Internet. There are between 3-5 each year. Sheila adjusts to the circumstances presented by each one, and delivers high quality digital collections that adhere to national standards and local practice, and she does so on schedule. Adding the Civil Rights Digital Library initiative this year introduces new responsibilities for Sheila, including leading the metadata effort for a format that is new to the DLG (moving image) and providing leadership for a large metadata aggregation effort.How has the nominee's hard word affected your unit and/or department? How has his/her hard work affect the Libraries?
The DLG has delivered 10 new digital collections through Georgia HomePLACE in which Sheila has played a leading role; she made extensive contributions to the DLG redesign that has helped us to fulfill our collaborative mission and improve functionality of the site; and she provides leadership in the descriptive aspects of digital library work.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Sheila is one of the state's most knowledgeable individuals in regard to digital library practice for cultural heritage materials. She also brings considerable knowledge of archival practice. These make for a strong and uncommon combination of professional skills.