OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED AWARD:

This award recognizes a person or group demonstrating willingness to assume additional duties or responsibilities. Examples include:

NOMINEES:

Steven Brown, Mary Linneman, Carol Bishop

I'd have to check to be sure, but I don't think that any of their job descriptions specifically include using a bucket truck to elevate themselves to the top of the Old College building to document the ca. 1805 tablet commemorating the selection of the site for the UGA campus. Steven valiantly attempted to make a rubbing of the tablet, a process he described as "much like coloring a bedsheet with a crayon in a breeze." Fortunately, Mary was able to make a digital photograph of the tablet, which is now available online.

Esther Giezendanner

I would like to take this opportunity to nominate Esther Giezendanner for the Other Duties as Assigned Award for the year 2009. Esther has gone beyond the call of duty since the day she started in the Monographs Original Cataloging section of the Cataloging Department.

Esther has consistently exceeded expectations for a first year cataloger. Not to mention that she is a really hard worker and isn' t afraid to take on some of the ugliest items on our shelves. We tease Esther saying that she will catalog 2000 books a month however, for the various formats and difficult items we encounter, Esther maintains remarkable statistics and exceptional quality.

In addition to her normal job duties, Esther has eagerly jumped in to assist with the Hargrett Manuscript Cataloging Project. With her positive and friendly demeanor, Esther has seamlessly entered the archival world of the Hargrett Library and has shared responsibility for pulling data sheets and researching people and topics mentioned in the collections. Her participation in researching the collections for five hours a week, in addition to cataloging the collections, has enabled our section to progress further than I originally anticipated.

Along with everything else she does, Esther has taken on the role of the Bibliographic Center Coordinator for the Cataloging Department. She keeps up with updates and supersessions to print cataloging tools. Esther participates in many Libraries committees and University activities. Esther is also an accomplished baker and should team up with Diane Trap and open a bakery! (But, we don' t want to lose Esther or Diane!) She always has numerous things going on but manages to balance everything. Nothing is ever left unfinished or forgotten. She is one of the few people in Cataloging who doesn' t have a desk cluttered up with books or papers.

If work wasn' t enough to keep her busy, Esther also volunteers as a court appointed advocate for the Athens-Oconee CASA Program. When her one case seemed to be going well and she had a lull in her duties, she took on another case. Her participation takes the notion of community service to another level.

Esther' s positive attitude, work ethic, and energy have really made a difference in the Monographs Original Cataloging section, not to mention the Cataloging Department. She balances all aspects of her job flawlessly and truly goes above and beyond what her job expectations are. I am honored to nominate Esther Giezendanner for the Other Duties as Assigned Award this year.

Eric Griffith

In 2008, Eric Griffith did a massive overhaul of the Athens information pages hosted on our Libraries' website (www.libs.uga.edu/athens). This website is consistently linked to by other UGA departmental websites and even non-UGA sites point to it as a premier source of information about the Classic City. It consistently ranks in the top pages visited on our website.

Eric has maintained the page consistently for years and with the new design has wrangled a massive amount of information into a well-organized and easily navigable format. His continued work with this resource benefits the Libraries, the university, and the community at large.

Matthew Pulver (Nomination #1)

At the beginning of Fall 2008, it was decided that the Science Reference and Access Services Public Service points would be combined on Saturdays. Whilst the Reference Desk had normally been staffed by Reference staff and students who were fully trained in Reference, the Access Services desk had been covered by their staff and students. Suddenly Matt Pulver, the Saturday Access Services staff member, was plunged into a frenzy of cross training in Reference, and working with Reference staff and students who were undergoing cross training in Access Services.

Matt dove into the training in Reference Service enthusiastically, seeing it as an opportunity to extend his skills and knowledge. He completed the basic training in a mere 2 weeks and continued to work at the Reference Desk at least one per week with a Reference staff member to fine tune his skills. He now works independently on the Reference Desk with a regular shift and is very competent. I have received numerous compliments on his reference service from patrons he has assisted. At the same time Matt has continued all his regular duties in Access Services, including assisting with Document Delivery/ILL as needed.

Matt has been encouraging and understanding of the Reference Staff and students who work with him on Saturdays. He is mindful of the Reference process and Chat Reference that Science Reference monitors on Saturdays along with assisting at the Access Services desk. At the same time he explains Access Services processes as they occur in a positive and helpful way, such that the learning process is reciprocal.

As the Science Library continues to pursue the idea of a joint service point, Matt has been a pioneer in this process and has shared valuable insight with his supervisors and peers. Matt was able to turn a difficult situation into a positive experience for both himself and the Reference Staff and Students that he worked with every Saturday. I applaud him for his positive attitude and understanding.

Matthew Pulver (Nomination #2)

In this time of budget crisis we are all asked to do more with less. In the fall of 2008 Matt Pulver was asked to work his Saturday shift without the student assistant that normally worked with him. Instead of having a separate Reference desk and Circulation desk with their own personnel at Science we would try out having a joint desk staffed by crossed trained staff from each department.

Without complaint Matt undertook the training in reference desk assistance, working with each of the reference staff to learn the different data bases for each science subject area in addition to the regular reference general knowledge. While undergoing this training Matt kept up his regular work load without requesting assistance from others. Additionally he assisted in cross training the reference desk personnel in circulation. Matt now works a regular shift on the Science Reference desk freeing up the reference staff members for a weekly staff meeting. Matthew has been the staff member most impacted by the joint service desk as he works every Saturday while the Reference staff works a weekend rotation.

Providing circulation, reserves and reference assistance from one desk can be trying. The staff on the desk has to be aware that the patron often does not know which department can provide the needed assistance and be ready to provide the assistance or direct the patron to the other staff member in a way that does not leave the patron feeling like a pawn. Matt shows great concern that the patrons have a good impression of the department and the Libraries and that they view the staff as competent and caring. He is very courteous to the patrons and makes every attempt to be helpful. He is helpful and uses his knowledge of the library and library procedures to help users solve problems.

Matt has never complained of the extra effort requested of him and has provided valuable feedback on the feasibility of a joint service desk for the Science Library.

Cataloging Department

The Cataloging Department has gone above and beyond providing assistance to Special Collections in implementing Archivist Toolkit and cataloging rare and reference books and media. Apart from their normal duties cataloging for the entire library they have taken on the enormous task of assisting Special Collections preparation for the upcoming move, while also assisting them with current tasks and projects. They have cataloged thousands of monographs, serials, and media in addition to providing MARC records for our manuscript collections. Everyone in cataloging is always willing to provide assistance and answer occasionally elementary questions. Their cheerfulness is instrumental in creating an effective working relationship for collaboration now and in the future. In essence we could not do what we do without them.

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