This award celebrates skill, innovation and expertise in the use of technology in developing or enhancing a library activity, service, process, or system. Attributes to highlight include originality, creativity, relevance, quality and benefits derived from the results.
The "10 Weeks to a 2.0 You" Group created and taught a 10 week long series of seminars to familiarize the Libraries' Staff and Faculty with new Web 2.0 software. This program endeavored to give all willing a solid foundation in using these varied softwares, and ideas in how to apply them in their day to day lives and duties here in the Libraries.
Implemented Library Ala Cart guides for Libraries faculty and staff. These guides allow Instruction Librarians to create course and subject related guides on the fly without having to create a website from scratch using HTML. Our students and faculty love them, and it puts all of our individual generated content in one place. Thanks Deb and Phoebe for seeing this idea through until the end!
Phoebe identified an open source content management system for the creation of research guides, LibGuides, and worked with Phil and Deborah to implement it on the Libraries' site. The LibGuides software solved the problem of being able to quickly create and publish guides to course and subject related content and house them in a central clearinghouse. In the first year, librarians have created over 100 course and subject guides, and more are constantly being added. These guides are excellent adjuncts to classroom information literacy instruction and are also useful for librarians helping students find information on, for example, finding test instruments. LibGuides has been a very useful tool for the reference department.
Doing all that iphone stuff. Even before he had an iphone. And doing all the other support stuff.
Abby Griner has demonstrated great leadership and vision in assessing ways to improve and increase access to Russell collections. She has completed exceptional and ground breaking work in developing the XTF interface database to provide searchable access to the Russell Library's collections, to date she has overseen the inclusion of 126 individual finding aids. This work significantly improves and expands access to the Russell collections and serves as the model for other special collection repositories. Abby has collaborated with the staff at the Digital Library of Georgia to develop this resource, but has done the lionshare of the work on her own.
Abby continues to manage the Russell Web site efficiently and to look for areas for further refinement and expansion. This year she has collaborated with Library Systems to launch online databases and exhibits including: "Vintage Baseball Cards from the Collection of Senator Richard B. Russell" and "American Turpentine Farmers Association Minute Books." She has also contributed to the creation of the web site for the Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, the online exhibit "Measuring Deliberate Speed," and the web page for the "Reflection on Georgia Politics Collection."
Deborah Stanley's work as the Libraries' Web Editor has been outstanding and valuable. It is a huge job to manage the web site and Deborah does it with style and good grace. Not only is she responsible for the technical changes on the website, but she must also coordinate the work of others who also have responsibilities for departmental websites within the Libraries.
One recent achievement is the redesign of the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library's website, with the assistance of Ginny Feher and Amy Watts. The new site incorporates links to the various collections, past exhibits, the Lillian Smith Book Awards, and the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame site among other links.
Deborah's Master's in Information Technology has found many uses in her current position and the website reflects the benefits of her extra work.
Recently, Deborah has overseen the implementation of a user's survey as a way of analyzing the Libraries' website with an eye toward its eventual redesign. She was also responsible for developing and maintaining the website devoted to the hiring procedures for the newly selected Provost. Further, she is working to develop a mobile website, providing even more remote access to users.
Other projects include the development of the Multimedia button and the RSS feed button on the Libraries' Homepage, working toward the implementation of EBSCO's new Discovery Service and working with others on the 10 Weeks to a 2.0 You training program.
In addition to being the Web Editor, Deborah also works as a Reference Librarian, providing many hours of public service each week. And just so that she has a role in nearly every area, she is now the Germanic Languages bibliographer in Collection Development.
These many roles all contribute to the advancement of the Libraries as an integral part of the academic community at UGA. In the more than 10 years she has been a part of the Libraries organization, Deborah has been a proven asset and she is worthy of this award.