Outstanding First-Year Faculty Nominees
Awarded to a contract employee who has exhibited exceptional job performance, attitude, interpersonal working relationships, and great potential for future service to the Libraries. Employees who were hired between December 1, 2004 and November 30, 2005 are eligible for this award.
Ian Thomas (1 of 2)
Science Reference
What, in your opinion, are the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee in the past year?
Ian has transitioned into his new role as librarian seamlessly! He has joined the obligatory committees, stepped up to take additional teaching duties, and even stopped wearing t-shirts at work! His tireless attempts to inject rationality into library procedures is admirable. Ian is always the much-needed voice of reason.How has the work of the nominee affected the way the Libraries' carry out its mission? Your department?
Ian has advocated for the condensing of procedures and polices here at the library. His common sense approach to committee work always cuts to the heart of the matter at hand. Recently, he advocated for the streamlining of journal records to the Serials Cataloging Department. The notes field in these records forced patrons to have to scroll down to locate the call number for a journal. He successfully lobbied for these records to be altered so patrons could find the sought-after information quickly and easily.What leadership skills has this person demonstrated in the past year?
Ian has taken over the duties of web editor for the Science Library. In this capacity he has redone the Science Library's website. He continually seeks input from his fellow Science Library staff and incorporates this input into his work as web editor.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Ian is a true asset to the UGA Library. He has done an outstanding job in his first year as a librarian. His no-nonesense approach to librarianship is a welcome addition to our staff.Ian Thomas (2 of 2)
Science Reference
What, in your opinion, are the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee in the past year?
It is never easy getting a higher degree and then being hired back into your old department, right down to the unit, for your new position. Somehow, Ian has managed to overcome that drawback, despite the fact that we know all his quirks!!In his new role, Ian first switched from the proverbial t-shirt to button down shirts just to make us all look up and listen (and rib!!). Seriously though, he took the goals of his new position in running stride, reaching out by mail and phone to all faculty within the disciplines he was to oversee. No small task when you are the liaison for 7 - 10 large departments in the sciences. This contact sprouted interest on behalf of the faculty in library instruction classes; Endnote sessions; and greater contact with the graduate students within those disciplines.
Ian also took over the job of webmaster for the Science Library pages, and has worked tirelessly to get them updated and appropriate for our South Campus constituents. Through his efforts, the Science Library now has representation on WAG.
Ian has also been the voice of reason as we battle with access on the reference machines to various programs and databases and of course google. Ian has been a proponant for looking at the lock down of machines and gaining a balance between security and the needs of our patrons.
How has the work of the nominee affected the way the Libraries' carry out its mission? Your department? Through his contact with faculty, Ian has made faculty aware of what the library has to offer, not only in resources but also in services to our users. At the same time, by listening to faculty concerns and needs, Ian can better speak to adjustments the library needs to make to meet the concerns and needs of those we serve. Improving the web page, also makes it easier for our constituents to see what we have to offer and contact us.What leadership skills has this person demonstrated in the past year?
Ian's past experience in the trenches plus his sometimes new view, has been a benefit for service on several different library-wide committees. He has also presented papers at meetings on google scholar in particular, not being afraid of this new research tool, but instead incorporating it into the tools to use as we assist patrons. He was in fact the first to jump on this bandwagon.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Despite his new position, Ian is still the same down to earth person. He is very techno savvy and this helps give the rest of the unit an angle we are not all comfortable using. Ian also continues to be a team player, working with and for the betterment of the unit, department and library as a whole.Elizabeth White
Reference
What, in your opinion, are the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee in the past year?
Unquestionably Elizabeth's most outstanding accomplishment this year was her facilitation role with the Roosevelt Institute Symposium. This role built upon all of the liaison work she did with the students throughout the last academic year. Using an instruction session as the initial point of contact Elizabeth looked beyond the students' immediate research needs and counseled them on a variety of topics including scholarly publishing. When she noticed that the students were meeting in the SLC she dropped in and demonstrated her willingness to help them in a variety of ways. When it came time for the students to present their work Elizabeth was instrumental in securing the venue, arranging for light refreshments, designing the invitations, inviting a photographer and arranging for publicity. The Roosevelt scholars learned that having a friend in the Libraries was invaluable!How has the work of the nominee affected the way the Libraries' carry out its mission? Your department?
Elizabeth has shown that initiative can yield substantial results. By meeting with undergraduates outside of their classes Elizabeth demonstrated that reference librarians are here to mentor students whenever they need assistance or guidance. Her involvement in the Institute's program translated into the Libraries' co-sponsorship. This demonstrated to the University Administration that the Libraries actively contribute to the teaching mission of the University. Elizabeth's enthusiasm for her role as student mentor encourages everyone in the department to look for creative ways to inculcate ourselves into the academic lives of the University's student body.What leadership skills has this person demonstrated in the past year?
Elizabeth demonstrated that librarians need to look at what the students who seek assistance are trying to achieve rather than just answering their questions about a specific topic. Elizabeth took specific questions and responded to them not just in terms of the databases that may have appropriate content, but also in terms of ways to analyze the literature, describe conclusions, and then polish papers into presentations.What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?
Elizabeth comes to us from the Research Triangle. She has experience both at UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University. She brings many ideas about practices that have been tried at these institutions to our discussions.