ASSET 2006: Outstanding Department Head Nominations

Outstanding Department Head Nominees

Awarded to the Department Head who is recognized to have strong management skills, is an advocate for both the Libraries and its mission and their department's employees' needs. This person is able to balance the goals of the Libraries with the individual goals of the employees in their department.

Toby Graham | Nan McMurry

Toby Graham (1 of 3)
Digital Library of Georgia

What, in your opinion, are the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee in the past year?

Toby is exceptionally talented in maintaining harmony in the workplace and makes healthy working relationships a priority. He takes a personal interest in the work of each member of his staff, including the student assistants, and regularly offers encouraging feedback.

Is there a specific incident you'd like to cite? For example, has this person led your department through a difficult change while maintaining a focus on the Libraries' mission?

Toby has guided us smoothly through several staffing changes over the course of the year. He invests his supervisors with responsibility, encouraging them to rise to new challenges, improving morale and productivity in the process.

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

Toby supports wholeheartedly the career development of his staff, enabling us to receive special training and encouraging several of us in our pursuit of the MLIS degree. In so doing, he not only helps us do our jobs better, but also enriches the context in which we work, making our work more meaningful and interesting.

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

In spite of the fact that Toby is once again the proud father of a new baby, who refuses to sleep at night, he has tirelessly continued to support his staff and fulfill his duties. He is an inspiration to us all.

Toby Graham (2 of 3)

What, in your opinion, are the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee in the past year?

Patience, kindness, discretion and a good sense of humor.

Is there a specific incident you'd like to cite? For example, has this person led your department through a difficult change while maintaining a focus on the Libraries' mission?

Because the DLG interacts with so many different departments and agencies, I think that it is difficult to balance priorities with personalities in a sensitive and conscientious way. I think that Toby has led by example to create a positive office environment and good collegial interaction amongst the members of our department.

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

Toby always offers positive feedback and recognition at the appropriate time: verbally after a presentation, or in writing at the end of a project. When he has to review our product or performancecritically, he does so in a polite and constructive way.

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

Good guy, good boss.

Toby Graham (3 of 3)

What, in your opinion, are the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee in the past year?

Toby is a model department head. Passionate about archives, history, and digital libraries, he exhibits enthusiasm and committment not only to his chosen profession but also to his employees. Toby is also ready to listen to his employees' ideas and concerns and encourages them in all their endeavors. Also, Toby is an excellent manager of projects. He is especially talented in soliciting the views of a wide variety of interested parties.

Is there a specific incident you'd like to cite? For example, has this person led your department through a difficult change while maintaining a focus on the Libraries' mission?

Toby's leadership of the DLG/Media's recent grant to create a Civil Rights Digital Portal is exemplary. Not only did he author the grant application, but he is the primary architect behind the project teams and their direction. He has brought in experts and stakeholders from around the state to act as an advisory board to the project and has brought in staff members from around the library to shape the project.

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

Toby actively advocates for his employees and seeks to enrich each employee's professional experience. He encourages them to build their potential, be professionally involved, and to explore new avenues of development.

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Nan McMurry
Collection Development

What, in your opinion, are the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee in the past year?

Nan is a dream employeer. She consistantly maintains a perfect balance between awareness of her employee's endeavors and a willingness to allow them the independence they need. She has a gentle yet authoritative demeaner, making her at once approachable and efficient at motivating those who work for her. In addition, she has a keen understanding of priorities, allowing her to place the proper emphasis on those duties that need the most immediate attention.

Is there a specific incident you'd like to cite? For example, has this person led your department through a difficult change while maintaining a focus on the Libraries' mission?

In Preservation, which is almost a department in and of itself and which Nan also manages, we have recently wrapped up our work on the 2003 fire. This has allowed us to focus our attention on other projects and other potentialities for the department. Nan has lead us through this transition quite smoothly, facilitating the workflow with other departments and generally being aware of what work is available and important for Preservation to tackle. This has allowed us to assist in
the Chinese exchange book project as well as some gift material processing, making it possible for these materials to be available to patrons as swiftly as possible.

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 believes in the importance of education. Under her direction, both Julie Dyles and Emily Hopkins have been able to attend Library school and I have been able to take classes and start graduate work in the English Department. These extra activities were made possible by the fact that Nan feels that her employees should be able to enrich themselves (many other of her employees also sit-in and take various classes). However, none of these extra activites have obstructed the workflow of the department. This is due in part to Nan's watchful eye, making sure that work gets done even if the employee has other obligations, and in part to the respect her employees have for her and the appreciation they feel toward her for letting them persue their interests.

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

I have nominated Nan for this award before, in fact every year that she has been my department head. But I truly feel that she does such an incredible job, and I feel so lucky to work for her, that I have the need to sing her praises whenever the oppertunity presents itself.

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